


And She Makes Eight

by PixieBee



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Sibling Bonding, danny's a little shit, minor death scences
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:54:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 62,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25585516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PixieBee/pseuds/PixieBee
Summary: Hope you like it, this is my first published fic. I thought of it as I was watching it through the first time and noticed something missing. I'll be definitely be releasing season three as soon as it comes.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 13





	1. Prelude

1989:

The woman walked alone along the abandoned fence that had been taken by the river, laughing to herself as she jumped from post to rotted post. The wind picked up. She climbed up the bluff that straddled the river below. A storm was coming; she could tell by the silence of the forest around her. The only sounds were that of the quiet crackling fire and the small snores of her friends above her on the mesa. With a misplaced step, the nineteen year old lost her footing and fell into the water ten feet below.

  
“Help! Help me!” She called as loud as she could. Her heart was pounding and she let out a blood-curdling scream as she looked down. Dark red tendrils came from underneath her suddenly protruding stomach, turning the water a sickly shade of pink. “Help me! Atsa! Dibe!” She heard her friends awake and come running down the steep slope and down into the water. Her vision blurred from the pain.  
“Breathe. Breathe.” Her friend instructed. Coyotes’ called far behind her, and she screamed, feeling like she was being ripped in two. One of them split off, calling 911 with shaky fingers.

  
“I need an ambulance. We’re—we’re off highway 4, about two miles south of Sharp Lake. Yes, on the rez. Yes, I know.” After arguing with the dispatcher for a few more minutes, he came back.  
“It’s gonna be about half an hour. They’re all over at an accident in Cut Bank.” He explained. Ten minutes later, at 8:00 PM, October 1st, 1989, a child was born. Her friends left to go get help, leaving the mother and her newborn daughter. The mother looked at her newborn daughter. The baby opened her eyes and looked at her mother. They sat, staring at each other, bright yellow eyes meeting brown. At 8:14, the mother was dead.

2002:

“Pardon me sir.” Pogo interrupted the silent meal. The five children stopped eating in confusion and concern.

  
“Yes Pogo? It must be important if it interrupted dinner.” Pogo glanced over at the children, who had frozen.

  
“Yes Mister Hargraves. There was, well there was a call from an agent that I think you need to look at.” Pogo said, still looking at the children, before turning back to Mr. Hargraves. Reginald Hargraves put down his fork and rose, following Pogo out of the room. The children looked at each other, afraid to speak.  
Their father did not return to dinner that night. Nor the next. In fact, it was a full six days later in the midst of a severe thunderstorm that the helicopter returned to the roof. Two figures entered the mansion. The five children heard the door open, and almost in unison crept out of their rooms and down to the landing.

  
“Pogo, take care of her please and catch her up to where the others are. Get her blood work, a tattoo, and a uniform. You can put her in Ben’s old room.” Klaus stifled a gasp and went to stand up, but Diego pulled him back down.

  
“Wait. I want to see how this plays out.” He hissed to his brother. Hargraves left in the direction of his study. The young girl looked at Pogo, with bright yellow eyes, unblinking. Her dark hair was pulled back into two plaits that fell just to her shoulders, making her look younger than she already did.

  
“Come with me.” Pogo turned on his heel and walked away. The girl turned, looked straight at the five children huddled together in the shadow of the landing, and then followed Pogo. The five looked at each other and silently followed.

  
“Okay, name.” Pogo asked as the girl climbed up onto the table.

  
“Danielle Clah.” She answered, swinging her legs idly off the table edge.

  
“Okay, Ms. Clah. When and where were you born?” Pogo asked, bustling around the cluttered room, pulling out a needle and some tubes.

  
“Blackfeet Reservation, Montana. October 1st, 1989.” She was trance-like in her response.

  
“That’s impossible. She can’t be older than ten.” Luther pointed out. The girl turned and looked directly at them.

  
“And Ms. Clah, please clench your fist.” She did as instructed, a mild grimace passed over her face as he stuck the needle in the crook of her arm. Pogo removed the needle and put the blood sample in three different medical containers. “Okay. Well, we’ll get the artist in tomorrow, so I think it would be best for you to get some sleep. You’ve had a very long day.” Danielle jumped off the table with the ease of a cat. She followed him out of the room and the children scattered, disappearing almost silently.

  
“Your mother has put your clothes in your new room.” Pogo said as they climbed the stairs together. Danielle’s eyes darkened.  
“My mother is dead. I don’t have one anymore.”

  
“My apologies. Grace is the robot that helps with all the day to day tasks required. She is a maternal figure for the other children who live here.” Pogo responded, opening the door. Danielle looked at the near empty room, taking a step in and then pausing to look back at Pogo. “And of course, if you need anything, please ask.” He went to leave.

  
“Pogo?” She asked timidly. He turned around.

  
“Yes child?” He asked softly.

  
“What’s going to happen to me?” She asked, suddenly acting like what she was: a scared, orphaned thirteen year old.

  
“Don’t worry. You have just found a new home and a new family.” And closed the door.

  
~

  
“Children, it is six o’clock, wake up now.” Danielle’s eyes flew open. Her ears rotated towards the source of the noise. Grace tapped on the door, opening it slightly with her knock. “Hello Danielle, it is time for breakfast. Your clothes are in the closet. Don’t dawdle please.” Danielle quickly shifted, got dressed and once done stood in the hallway, not sure of where to go.

  
“Definitely tonight then.” A female voice floated down the hall; coming closer.

  
“Works for me.” A male voice. The two passed Danielle, continuing to talk. They didn’t glance her way or acknowledge her presence. So Danielle lurked behind, following them down to the dining room. Another girl was already there, standing behind the chair at the foot of the table, alone. Danielle stood behind the chair on her left.

  
“Why is she standing at Ben’s spot?” A sullen, dark haired boy called out as he entered the dining room.

  
“Come on Klaus, grow up. Ben’s been dead for a week.” The blond boy responded.

  
“Children, no arguing at the table please.” Grace called.

  
“But Luther, that’s his spot!” Klaus yelled. Danielle looked between Luther and Klaus.

  
“Does Ben want me to move, or is it okay that I sit here?” Danielle asked Klaus. Klaus just stared at her in disbelief. Then he turned his head to hear something from someone only he could see.

  
“No, Ben says it’s okay. He also says hello.” He stood behind the chair between the girl talking to Luther and Danielle. Danielle smiled at him warmly, her pointed canines gleaming. Reginald Hargreeves came to the table, standing for a moment at the head.

  
“Sit.”


	2. Episode I Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to have to split the chapters up in half, otherwise they'll be way too long. I'm following the script with a few changes. Enjoy!

Current Day:

My phone rang, interrupting me in the midst of birthing a baby seal. I ignored it. And then it rang again.

“Damian, can you grab that out of my back pocket and see who it is? It’s probably just my brother asking for a ride.” He did as I asked and held it up for me to see. Pogo. I rolled my eyes.

“I can ignore it. Probably just wondering _where_ my brother is.” I laughed, getting back to work. “Reyna, please grab me the bucket.” My phone rang again. Now I was getting worried, considering that Pogo knew that I was at work, and wouldn’t interrupt without reason. I stepped back, allowing a coworker to step in, and removed my gloves.

“What is it Pogo? I’m pretty busy.” I sighed, watching with relief as Riley got the baby turned the right way around.

“I’ve been calling you since yesterday Ms. Danielle.” Pogo said with annoyance. “Why did you not answer?”

“Pogo, I’ve been really busy. You know that I was doing a thirty-six hour shift, and I still have eight hours left. I also have a seal in birth right now that I really need to be helping with. Now what is so important that you just had to interrupt me?”

“Ms. Danielle, it’s your father.” I walked away from the celebration. “I’m afraid that he has passed.” My heart sank as I walked out of the room and slid down against the wall of the corridor.

“What happened?” I finally asked.

“He had a heart attack. I’ve called Luther, Diego, Allison, and Vanya. Unfortunately Master Klaus has not been answering his cellular telephone. Would you be able to contact him for me?” I nodded before realizing that he wouldn’t be able to see me.

“Yeah, I can do that. I-I’ll do that right now. Thank you for calling me Pogo.” I left, not bother to make sure that the mother and baby were okay. My boss would just have to figure out that I wasn’t coming in tomorrow. My busted old car pulled up in front of the front gates and I sighed as I stared at them. The car died and I walked into the empty mansion. Apparently I was the first.

“Klaus? Pogo?” I called. No one answered, so I went to my room and took a shower, washing the blood stains off my arms. Then there was a small grief nap, which really did help my grieving process. I walked down the empty hallway to the foyer.

“Klaus? Pogo? Grace?” I called.

“Hello dear. Oh, you look hungry. Can I make you lunch?” Grace asked from the kitchen. I shrugged, sitting at the large, empty table.

“Grace?” I asked, interrupting her humming. She turned, raising an eyebrow. “Were you there when Dad died?” She placed a plate in front of me.

“No, I gave him some tea as I do every day at two, and then I left.” I ate in silence. The outer gate slammed, and then the front door did as well.

“Klaus?”

“Not quite.” Diego answered. His voice rang from the cavernous space. I jumped up from my seat, running to him. Diego picked me up and spun me around once, placing me back on my feet. I buried my face in his chest and he wrapped his arms around me.

“I’ve missed you so much!” I laughed.

“I missed you too kiddo. How’ve you been?” I pulled away from him.

“Okay, first of all, I’m the same age that you are. I’m not a kid anymore Diego.” He laughed, walking past me.

“Sure thing, sport.” I watched as he walked away, and then I followed him up the stairs, mimicking his walk behind him.

“So what have you been doing for the seven years since I saw you last? Ya know, you definitely had my number, and since I was stuck here four years later than you guys were, it would have been nice to have had a visit from anyone.” Diego walked into his old room, white bare walls and an unmade bed.

“Yeah, I just didn’t want to see this place ever again.” He admitted.

“I guess, but still. For a few years, Klaus and I were stuck with Luther, Diego. Luther. And what have you been doing all this time?” I pulled one of the knives off his back, and threw it at the target on his wall. I missed and nearly threw it out the window. “Still vigilantly- ing?”

“That’s not a word, nor is it a profession.” He pulled the knife out of the wall and spun it idly in his hand.

“Exactly. So still doing that?” Diego turned to me, annoyed.

“Don’t you have literally anything else to do? Or anyone else to annoy?” I shrugged.

“No one else is here yet. You’re the only one here. Besides, Klaus is probably just now getting out of rehab, and is definitely scoring drugs right about now. And, I doubt that Luther or Allison are going to be able to break away from their _very_ busy schedule to stop by.” I left Diego to his sculking and wandered through the halls, then stopped at a closed, chipped door. I nudged it open with my foot.

The bare wood floor creaked as I walked in, looking around at my old room. The bed was a patchwork of mismatched parts, from all the times it broke because of shapeshifting in the middle of the night. Books littered the nightstand and were stacked against the bed. That, some posters and the few pictures were the only things that would indicate that a teenager ever lived there. My ears pricked as I heard the door open and close again. Curious, I meandered downstairs.

“Hey Allison.” I called to my sister. We exchanged a half-hearted hug and she held me at an arm’s length.

“Danny, wow. How old are you now?” She asked. I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

“Same age as you, remember?” She scoffed.

“No, how old are you?” She gestured to the rest of me.

“I don’t know. But my license says 21. Could be less; could be more, who knows? I just wanted to make sure that I could buy booze.” I responded.

“Still can’t control it fully then, I’m presuming?” She picked up her suitcase and looked around. I didn’t answer, instead leaving for the living room and making myself a drink. It would be necessary if there was going to be a family reunion. I laid on the uncomfortable couch, staring up at the painting of Five, the brother I had never met. I don’t know how much time had passed, I could hear Diego and Allison moving around upstairs, but tried to drown it out. The front door opened. I didn’t bother getting up, just rolling over so I could see who it was. Klaus looked like he was in a bad mood, so I didn’t say anything, just watched him as he skulked upstairs. I must have started to doze, because the slamming of the door scared me enough to shift in surprise. I sighed to myself in annoyance and shifted back as Luther walked into sight. 

I laughed in spite of myself when I saw him. “Oh, wow. You really filled out on the moon, huh? What are you, part gorilla?” I thought for a moment, getting up and walking to him lazily. “Actually, that would be so cool. Are you?”

“And you haven’t grown at all, have you?” He responded, walking past me. I didn’t warrant his departure with a response. He lumbered upstairs.

“Why do you always antagonize him, Ms. Danielle?” Pogo asked from the kitchen doorway.

“Because it’s so easy Pogo.” I grinned at him. “I’ve really missed you.” I reached down and hugged him tightly.

“I missed you too my child. These five years have been lonely without your constant noise.” He smiled warmly at me. The door opened again. It was Vanya.

“Vanya? You’re actually here.” Allison called from the stair landing.

“Hey Allison.”

“Hey sis.” Allison came the rest of the way down. They hugged half-heartedly.

“What is she doing here? You don’t belong here, not after what you did.” Diego announced. He pushed himself off the doorway of the living room and went to the stairs.

“Seriously? You’re going to do this today?” Allison called after him. Vanya looked at the ground, clearly upset. Diego didn’t answer as he walked up the stairs. “Way to dress for the occasion by the way.” She called after him. To be fair, she was right. Kevlar and knives don’t scream funeral.

“At least I’m wearing black.” He called as he rounded the corner. There was a second of silence.

“You know what? I’m- Maybe he’s right, and I shouldn’t-“Vanya went to leave.

“Forget about him. I’m glad you’re here.” Allison gave her a pat on the shoulder and went upstairs.

“Vanya.” I called. A slight smile crossed her face as she set down her violin.

“Hey Danny.” I ran and hugged her.

“You’re the only person I wanted to see, and I wasn’t sure that you were even coming.” I said, she pulled away.

“Oh wow. You look just like I remember. What are you, like sixteen?” She let out a soft laugh.

“I honestly don’t know. But I’m still bigger than you.” I laughed. Vanya picked up her violin case and went upstairs. I followed her and went to my room. Everything was as it was the day that I left. I sat on the bed, which creaked with my weight. I looked at the walls, the posters that Ben had put up before he died. That, plus the few things that I had made the room just look sad. I wandered back downstairs, to the living room where Vanya and Pogo were.

“How long has it been since Five disappeared?” Vanya asked. They were both looking at his portrait above the fireplace.

“It’s been sixteen years, four months, and fourteen days.” He turned to look at Vanya. “Your father insisted that I keep track.”

“You wanna know something stupid?” Vanya asked him.

“Always.” I commented from the doorway.

“I always used to leave the lights on for him. I was scared that he would come back, it would be late, and the house would be dark and wouldn’t be able to find us, so he’d leave again. So, every night I’d make him a little snack and make sure all the lights were on.”

“Oh, I remember your snacks. I’m pretty sure I stepped in half of those peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches.” Pogo said. “Your father always believed that Number Five was still out there somewhere. He never lost hope.” Vanya smiled sadly.

“And look where that got him.” Vanya responded. I pushed myself off the doorway and went back upstairs. I heard Allison’s voice from the study and decided to investigate.

“Oh, Allison!” Klaus was partially under Dad’s desk and Allison stood over him. ”Wow, is that you? Come here. Long time.” Klaus got up and hugged her. Too long.” He pulled away and held her at arms’ length. “Hey, I was hoping to see you actually, because I wanted to get your autograph. Add it to my collection.” Allison grabbed his wrist.

“Just out of rehab?”

“No, no. No, no, no, no.” He pulled down his sleeve to cover the medical bracelet. “No. I’m done with all that.” He sighed.

“No, he was in rehab.” I told her. Klaus looked at me.

“Oh, my god. Is that little Danny? You don’t look a day older than when I left.” He came over and gave me a hug. He was skinnier than the last time I saw him, I could feel his ribs when I wrapped my arms around him. He pulled away.

“I just came down here to prove to myself that the old man was really gone.” He tried for a few fake tears. That didn’t work. “And he is! He’s dead. Yeah!” He clapped his hands together. I looked around the study, remembering the few times I actually saw it during my stay here.

“You know how I know?” Klaus asked. “Because if he were alive, not one of us would be allowed to set foot in this room.” Allison broke eye contact. “He was always in here, our whole childhood, plotting his next torment, right?” He chuckled as he sat in the leather chair behind the desk and put his feet up.

“Remember how he used to look at us? That scowl?” Klaus pointed at the painting of Dad above the mantel behind him. “Thank Christ he’s not our real father so we couldn’t inherit those cold, dead eyes!” He lifted his eyelids with his fingers and screamed. Both Allison and I laughed.

“Number three!” He imitated our father. I stifled a laugh as Luther walked in.

“Get out of his chair.” Luther stood in the doorway next to me.

“Oh, Luther. Wow, you really, uh... you really filled out over the years, huh?” Klaus flexed his arms.

“Klaus.” Luther warned.

“Save the lecture. We were already leaving. Come on Danny. You guys can talk amongst yourselves.” He chuckled softly. We walked past Luther, but he suddenly put a hand on Klaus’s chest.

“Drop it.”

“Ex-squeeze me?” Klaus responded, blinking innocently at our brother.

“Do it. Now.” He lightly pushed Klaus. We both looked at him. Klaus jerked his arm away.

“All right. All right.” Klaus walked back to the center of the room. “It was just an advance on our inheritance!” He rummaged through his pockets and dramatically dropped the figurines. “That’s all it is.” He dropped another two. “No need to get your panties in a bunch.” Klaus taunted. Luther didn’t respond or move, just looking straight ahead. “Come on Danny.” He grabbed my arm as we left the room.

“Does that mean I have to give back what I stole?” I asked Klaus. He shook his head and mouthed the word ‘no’.

“Give it back Danny!” Luther called after me. I threw it at the back of his head as I left, closing the door behind me. When we came to the intersection of the corridors, Klaus reached into the back of his waistband and pulled out an embroidered box, and I pulled out a large Fabergé egg from under my baggy sweater. We grinned at each other and went our separate ways.

I went to my room and stored it behind the dresser, where I had hollowed a series of huge encyclopedias. Each one had a number on it. I opened the eighth one and set the egg inside, next to a fake domino mask that Grace helped me make when I first wasn’t allowed on missions.. I flipped through each of them, smiling idly at the memories. Number One held an old shirt from when Luther was younger, smaller, and nicer. Two had six knives, each one cleaned and sharpened with the greatest of care. Three revealed an old friendship bracelet with the letters A and D engraved on the back of the gaudy rhinestone. The first gift I had ever been given as a sister. Four had a small baggy with a single rock, and the smell of the slightest tinge of fentanyl on it still made my stomach queasy. This wasn’t noticeable to a truly human nose, and Klaus didn’t believe me when I said it would kill him. It also hid an empty eyeliner bottle, from when I helped Allison teach him how to use it the first time. The fifth encyclopedia was skipped, and the sixth held an embroidered pillowcase, that smelled like the brother I had never met, despite what Grace had said. The seventh contained old resin, and a piece of crumpled sheet music, that Vanya had tried to compose, but had given up on. A knock on the door jolted me out of my memories and I slammed the book closed and shoved it back into place.

“What?” I called. Vanya opened the door and stood in the doorway.

“Danny.” She asked timidly. “Come on.” I sighed, closed the book and followed her to the living room. Luther was already there, sitting stiffly on one of the couches. Allison was in a chair by the fireplace, nursing a drink. I went to the bar where Klaus was mixing what looked like a very complicated, very strong drink. I grabbed his drink and sat next to Vanya, ignoring his protests as he made another one.

Diego came and sat across from Allison. It was an awkward, sullen silence.

“Um…” Luther stood up. “I guess we should get this started. So, I figured we could have a sort of memorial service in the courtyard at sundown. Say a few words, just at Dad’s favorite spot.”

“Dad had a favorite spot?” Allison asked.

“You know, under the oak tree.” He told her. “We used to sit out there all the time. None of you ever did that?” I shook my head rapidly at him, trying to get him to stop while he was ahead.

“Will there be refreshments?” Klaus came and sat In between Vanya and me. “Tea? Scones? Oh, cucumber sandwiches are always a winner.”

“What?” Luther scoffed. “No. And put that out. Dad didn’t allow smoking in here.”

“Doesn’t matter now.” I muttered into my drink. Klaus got up and twirled past us.

“Is that my skirt?” Allison asked. Klaus was wearing a gray handkerchief skirt. 

“What?” Klaus asked innocently. “Oh, yeah, this. I found it in your room. He spun again. “It’s a little dated, I know, but it’s very breathy on the bits.” I stifled a laugh.

“Listen up. Still some important things that we need to discuss, all right?” Luther asked, regaining almost everyone’s attention.

“Like what?” Diego called.

“Like the way he died.”

“Here we go.” Diego and I said in unison.

“I don’t understand. I thought they said it was a heart attack.” Vanya said.

“Yeah, according to the coroner.”

“Well, wouldn’t they know?” Klaus asked, taking a drag.

“It is their job.” I told him.

“Theoretically.” Luther said.

“Theoretically?” Vanya repeated.

“I’m just saying, at the very least, something happened. The last time I talked to Dad, he sounded strange.”

“Oh, quelle surprise!” Klaus gargled, spilling some whiskey on me.

“Ew.” I used Allison’s skirt to wipe off my jeans.

“Strange how?” Allison got us back on topic.

“He sounded on edge. Told me I should be careful who to trust.”

“Luther, he was a paranoid, bitter old man who was starting to lose what was left of his marbles.” Diego stood.

“No. He must have known something was going to happen.” Luther denied. Diego came closer until they were only about a foot apart. Luther turned to Klaus. “Look, I know you don’t like to do it, but I need you to talk to Dad.” Klaus raised his eyebrows and held a hand to his chest. Allison and I scoffed.

“I can’t just call Dad in the afterlife and be like, “Dad, could you just… stop playing tennis with Hitler for a moment and take a quick call?”

“Since when? That’s your thing.” Luther responded.

“I’m not in the right…” Klaus fished for the word. “Frame of mind.”

“He’s high.” I commented. Klaus laughed.

“Yeah! Yeah!” He looked around. “I mean, how are you not, listening to this nonsense?” He leaned back.

“Well sober up. This is important.” Luther commanded. Klaus sighed and looked at me, making a face.

“Then there’s the case of the missing monocle.”

“Who gives a shit about a stupid monocle?” Diego asked.

“Exactly. It’s worthless. So whoever took it, I think it was personal.” Luther turned to Diego. “Someone close to him. Someone with a grudge.”

“Where are you going with this?” Klaus asked as we all looked between the two of them.

“Oh, isn’t it obvious Klaus? He thinks one of us killed Dad.” Diego glared at Luther. He didn’t respond. Klaus gasped.

“You do?!” He asked.

“How could you think that?” Vanya responded.

“Great job Luther. Way to lead.” Diego walked past him.

“That’s not what I’m saying.” Luther finally said.

“You’re crazy man. You’re crazy.” Klaus left. “Crazy.”

“I’m not finished.” Luther called. I stood up.

“I think you are big guy.” I patted him roughly on the shoulder and went to leave.

“Sorry, I’m just going to go murder Mom, be right back.” Klaus came back to grab his drink.

“That’s not what I was saying, I didn’t…” Luther sighed. I left. I went out to the courtyard, sitting under the statue of Ben, next to where Reginald’s favorite spot was supposed to be. I leaned against Ben and closed my eyes. It was hard being alone when you knew your family just didn’t want to see you, but it was harder when they all came back. My ears pricked at the sound of one of Luther’s stupid records starting to play. I tried to stop, but my foot started to tap, and I began to dance. I swooped and spun in rhythm to the music. Suddenly there was ground-shaking blast of thunder. I fell to the ground in surprise, shifting into a cat.

“What the fuck?!” I yelled, shifting back to myself. Up in the sky, next to the gazebo, a large swirling cloud formed.


	3. Episode I Part II

“What the fuck?!” I yelled, shifting back to myself. Up in the sky, next to the gazebo, a large swirling cloud formed.

“Guys!” I threw open the doors and yelled. “Come here!” My heart was racing. I glanced back to the large storm forming in the courtyard. For a moment, it looked like a face was forming, but both young and old at the same time. Everyone came running, and Diego burst through the doors. I was right behind him, Vanya behind me.

“Oh.” Diego gasped.

“What is it?!” Vanya asked.

“Don’t get too close!” Allison yelled. I thought she was talking to Diego and me, but she held onto Luther’s arm, trying to pull him back. 

“Yeah, no shit.” Diego responded.

“Looks like some sort of a temporal anomaly.” Luther commented.

“Yeah, no shit.” I retorted under my breath. Diego let a half smile escape and gently shoved me back.

“Either that or a miniature black hole. One of the two.” Luther continued, not hearing me, or ignoring me, one of the two.

“Pretty big difference there, Paul Bunyan.” Diego told Luther, standing right next to him. I heard someone come running down the hall towards us.

“Out of the way!” Klaus screamed. He pushed past us.

“What are you-“Luther started, but Klaus didn’t stop. He held the fire extinguisher up to the anomaly and tried spraying it. When that didn’t work, he threw the extinguisher at it.

“What is that gonna do?” Allison yelled at him.

“I don’t know. Do you have a better idea?” I ran under Luther’s outstretched arm and pulled Klaus back right as a burst of lightening came from the hole.

“Woah. Everybody get behind me.” Luther grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled both Klaus and me behind him.

“Yeah, get behind us.” Diego stood next to Luther.

“I vote for running, c’mon!” Klaus went to turn around, but I grabbed his wrist.

“No.” I didn’t let go. The five of us watched as the same man from before appeared, an old man, seeming to age in reverse. His gray hair turned black, and he began to shrink as he came out of the anomaly. Until a young, teenaged boy fell from the sky. He fell on his hands and knees, taking shaky breaths as the anomaly closed. We, as a group, took a step closer. The boy stood up.

“Does anyone else see little Number Five, or is it just me?” Klaus asked. Five looked down at himself, and then back to us.

“Shit.” He breathed. I leaned over to Vanya.

“Is this _that_ Number Five?” I asked her. She nodded, not taking her eyes off him.

“Do you know any others?” Klaus stuck his head in between us.

“Who the hell are you?” Five asked me.

“Me?” I asked. “I’m Number Eight.”

~

“What’s the date? The exact date?” We watched as Five grabbed something from the cupboard and brought it down on the table. 

“The 24th.” Vanya answered.

“Of what?” Five asked impatiently.

“March.” I answered, balanced carefully on one of the dining room chairs.

“Good.” He muttered under his breath, pulling bread out of the bag.

“So are we gonna talk about what just happened?” Luther asked. Five didn’t respond, focusing on the task at hand.

“It’s been 17 years.” Luther stood up angrily. Five turned and faced him.

“It’s been a lot longer than that.” With a little blue light, Five walked right through Luther and reappeared behind him, on the stool. He grabbed the bag of marshmallows from the top shelf. 

“I haven’t missed that.” Luther muttered.

“Where’d you go?” Diego asked, getting back on topic.

“The future.” Five said. He disappeared and reappeared at the table. “It’s shit, by the way.”

“Called it.” Klaus raised a finger and looked around. He was sitting on the table, still in Allison’s skirt.

“I should have listened to the old man.” Five was talking, but I wasn’t sure it was to us. “You know, jumping through space is one thing, but jumping through time is a toss of the dice.” He pulled the peanut butter from the fridge. He looked up.

“Nice dress.” He nodded at Klaus.

“Oh, well, danke!” Klaus thanked him. Five glanced over at me, clearly uncomfortable with me being there.

“How long have you been here?” He asked me.

“17 years. About two months after you left.” I responded.

“And wait, how did you get back?” Vanya asked Five.

“In the end, I had to project my consciousness forward into a suspended quantum state version of myself that exists across every possible instance of time.” Everyone was looking at one another, confused and trying to see if anyone understood what he was saying. I nodded along, not understanding anything, but purely to screw with my siblings. Klaus and Allison looked at me with surprise.

“That makes no sense.” Diego said.

“It would if you were smarter.” Five commented. I snorted, Five shot me a quick smirk, and Diego pushed me off the chair. He then stood, but Luther stopped him from beating Five.

“How long were you there?” He asked.

“Forty-five years. Give or take.” Five answered. Both Diego and Luther sat down heavily.

“So you’re saying that you’re 58?” Luther asked.

“No.” Five said patiently, like he was explaining it to a very stupid child. “My consciousness is 58. Apparently my body is now 13 again.”

“Wait, how does that even work?” Vanya asked.

“Delores kept saying the equations were off. Eh.” He shrugged and took a bite of his sandwich. “Bet she’s laughing now.”

“Delores?” Vanya followed up. Five didn’t answer. He picked up the paper lying next to him.

“Guess I missed the funeral.”

“How’d you know about that?” Luther asked.

“What part of the future do you not understand?” Five shot Luther a look. “Heart failure, huh?”

“Yeah,” Diego said, right at the same time that Luther said “no.” Five hummed to himself. He clicked his tongue.

“Nice to see that nothing’s changed.” He went to leave.

“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?” Allison turned and said to his retreating form.

“What else is there to say? Circle of life.” He called behind him. We sat in silence for a second.

“Well. That was interesting.” Luther commented. It was silent for another moment. Knowing that no one was going to talk for a spell, I got up and walked to the living room. Five was already there, looking around.

“Everything’s the same.” He commented. I hummed to myself as I made another drink.

“Do you want something? I think it’s legal for you to drink if your mind is over 21.” I told him. He nodded and I slid him a glass.

“I don’t know. Is it legal for you?” He responded. I laughed, walking out from the bar and perching on the back of the sofa.

“No clue either. I age a bit differently than the others do.” I answered honestly.

“How’s that?” He leaned against the fireplace. I shrugged noncommittally. I really wasn’t willing to get into the discussion of the lack of control I have over my powers with a teenager. “Let’s just say that you’re not the only one who hasn’t perfected their powers.” I nodded towards the portrait above the fireplace, hopeful to change the subject as I heard Vanya approaching.

“Did you see that?” I asked him. He turned and looked at it.

“Nice to know Dad didn’t forget me.” He turned to Vanya. “Read your book by the way. Found it in a library that was still standing.” He walked past her. “I thought it was good, all things considered.” He stopped and thought for a second. “Yeah, definitely ballsy, giving up the family secrets. Sure that went over well.”

“They hate me.” Vanya admitted.

“Oh, there are worse things that could happen.” He responded.

“You mean like what happened to Ben?” Vanya suggested.

“Was it bad?” Five asked. Vanya nodded slightly. We all were silent for a second, mourning the other brother that I hadn’t met. I finished my drink, swirling the ice lazily in the glass. Vanya eventually left, so it was just Five and myself again. He sat across from me.

“How was it, when I left?” Five asked. I thought for a moment before answering.

“I came in a week after Ben had died, so it was really quiet for a while. Then, I guess that they got used to the fact that you were gone. I mean, I didn’t know you, so I wasn’t really all that sad, but they were definitely broken up about it. The only thing that made it better, I guess, was that we knew you were alive. Reggie always thought you were out there, and we had Klaus check to make sure that you weren’t dead.” I stopped. “Of course, things did eventually go back to normal, and then they left, leaving me in this empty, dead, house.” I lie down on the couch and put my feet up on the arm. “I can tell you that they missed you a lot. If that’s any consolation to you.” Five nodded to himself and we sat in a comfortable silence for a while.

~

We walked out single file into the courtyard. Five matching, black umbrellas went up. Luther, in an act of sheer stubbornness or defiance refused one, and was soaked by the time we were at Ben’s statue. Diego also was soaked, and I was pretty sure it was to outdo Luther. We gathered in a semi-circle, all facing Luther.

“Did something happen?” Grace asked, confused. We all looked at each other, not wanting to be the one to tell her.

“Dad died, remember?” Allison asked.

“Oh.” Grace lost her smile. “Yes, of course.”

“Is Mom okay?” Allison asked Diego.

“Yeah, yeah. She’s fine.” Diego looked over at Grace. “She just needs to rest. You know, recharge.” I heard Pogo walk over, and turned as he stopped next to me. Pogo looked at Luther, nodding for him to begin.

“Whenever you’re ready, dear boy.” Luther thought for a moment. He opened the urn and dumped the ashes out, which just fell to the ground in a wet clump. We all stared at it.

“Probably would have been better with some wind.” We all avoided eye contact with each other.

“Does anyone wish to speak?” Pogo asked. No one volunteered. “Very well.” Pogo sighed. “In all regards, Sir Reginald Hargreeves made me what I am today. For that alone, I shall forever be in his debt. He was my master and my friend, and I miss him very much.” Pogo paused before resuming. “He leaves behind a complicated legacy-“

“He was a monster.” Diego interrupted, looking at the pile of ashes. Klaus gave a nervous laugh. “He was a bad person and a worse father. The world’s better off without him.”

“Diego.” Allison warned.

“My name is Number Two.” Diego responded sharply. “You know why? Because our father couldn’t be bothered to give us actual names. He had Mom do it.”

“Would anyone like something to eat?” Grace asked, unsure of what was happening.

“No, it’s okay Mom.” Vanya responded.

“Oh, okay.” Grace smiled. There was a second of uncomfortable silence.

“Look, you wanna pay your respects?” Diego stepped forward. “Go ahead. But at least be honest about the kind of man he was.”

“You should stop talking now.” Luther warned him. I watched as Diego’s eyes narrowed and he turned towards Luther.

“You know, you of all people should be on my side here, Number One.” He said.

“I am warning you.” Luther responded. I quietly stepped away from the confrontation and stood by Klaus and Five.

“He had to ship you a million miles away.” Diego moved closer to Luther.

“Diego, stop talking.” Luther growled.

“That’s how much he couldn’t stand the sight of you!” Luther went to punch him, but Diego was faster and ducked away. Vanya gently moved Grace back a few steps as Diego and Luther began to fight.

“Boys! Stop this at once!” Pogo called. Klaus, Five, and I stepped back as well. Klaus held his arm out to protect Five and me, but Five brushed his arm away and shot Klaus a slight glare. Luther shoved Diego away, and almost made him lose his balance, but Diego stood back up.

“C’mon big boy.” He called. Luther took another swing, but Diego was already out of the way. As Luther finished his swing, Diego was already on Luther’s back, hitting him as hard as he possibly could.

“Stop it!” Vanya yelled.

“Hit him! Hit him!” Klaus responded. Pogo sighed and left, giving up on us.

“Bet’s on Diego.” I whispered to Klaus. He turned to me.

“Are you kidding? Luther’s literally got the body of a gorilla. I’ll take it.” He said. Five leaned over and looked at the two of us.

“You’re seriously betting on which of our brothers will beat the other one?” He asked. Klaus and I nodded. Five thought for a moment before shrugging and turning back to watch the fight. Luther was holding Diego by the throat, not tight enough to hurt him, but just enough to hold him off.

“Get off me!” Diego growled, finally ripping Luther’s arm away. They both broke away, panting.

“We don’t have time for this.” Five said, disgusted. He turned and walked inside.

“Come here, big boy.” Diego taunted, his back to Ben’s statue. Luther yelled and swung at him, but once again, Diego was faster, and ducked out of the way. Luther’s fist connected with Ben, knocking the whole statue off the pedestal. We watched as he fell to the ground, the head breaking off as it hit the pavement.

“Oh.” Klaus sighed sadly.

“And there goes Ben’s statue.” Allison said disapprovingly. She turned to leave. Diego and Luther were facing each other, about ten feet apart, panting. Diego pulled out one of his knives.

“Diego, no!” Vanya yelled. But Diego was already throwing it. The four of us watched as the blade curved it midair, cutting through the layers of Luther’s sleeve and continuing past him. Luther gasped, holding his arm. He tucked his arm tightly against his side and quickly went inside. The four of us watched as the door closed.

“You never know when to stop, do you?” Vanya asked Diego, angrily. He shook his head slightly and came in closer.

“You got enough material for your sequel yet?” Vanya stared at him.

“He was my father too.” She walked inside. Diego stood there for a moment. He walked over to Grace.

“Mom?” She turned towards him with a distant smile. “Let’s go inside.” He led her inside. As the door closed I went over and picked up Ben’s head. I brought it back and sat next to Klaus on the bench. He sat there for a second before idly walking up to the ashes, still undisturbed. He crouched down next to them.

“I bet you’re loving this. Hmm?” He asked, rocking back on his heels. “The team at its best. It’s just like old times.” He put out the remainder of his cigarette in the ashes as he got up.

“Best funeral ever.” He announced to me and the ashes and went inside. I placed Ben’s head on the bench and followed Klaus in. I dried off and wandered down to the kitchen, where Five was already scrounging for food. I joined him. I sat down with a large bowl of decently over-ripe berries as Klaus walked it with a broken guitar. Five continued to search for food. I guess it must suck being stuck with strictly human tastes. I kicked my feet up on the table as Allison walked it.

“Why can’t you two sit like normal people?” She asked us. I shrugged at her. “Where is Vanya?” She asked Klaus.

“Oh, she’s gone.” He responded.

“That’s unfortunate.” Five said. Allison agreed, but I doubted that they were talking about the same tragedy.

“An entire square block. Forty-two bedrooms, nineteen bathrooms, but no, not a single drop of coffee.” Five set the empty strainer on the table.

“Dad hated coffee.” Allison reminded Five.

“Well, he hated children, too, and he had plenty of us.” Klaus laughed, hugging his guitar. Five and Allison both looked at him.

“I’m taking the car.” Five announced.

“Where are you going?” Klaus sat up.

“To get a decent cup of coffee.” Five responded.

“Do you even know how to drive?” Allison scoffed.

“I know how to do everything.” Five barked impatiently. He disappeared.

“I feel like we should try and stop him.” Klaus got up and shakily walked around in circles. We all looked up as we heard the car engine turn over. Allison came over to take some of what I was eating, but turned her nose when she saw what it was.

“Can’t you try to be a little more human?” She asked me. I shrugged, not committed to it. Diego entered.

“All right, I guess I’ll see you guys in, what, ten years?” He asked. “When Pogo dies?”

“Not if you die first.” Allison said, leaving.

“Yeah, love you too, sis.” He called after her. “Good luck on your next film.” She stopped at turned to him. He stole a berry from me. “Hope it turns out better than your marriage, huh?” He popped the berry in his mouth and made a sour face. He turned to leave.

“Are—Are we leaving?” Klaus got up and went after him.

“Oh, can I come?” I called, not getting up.

“No. I’m leaving, me, by myself.” Diego told us. Klaus clapped his hands.

“Oh, fabulous! I’ll get my things.” They left in opposite directions, Klaus following Allison up the stairs. I heard car doors slam and Diego’s car engine sputter to life. I went upstairs, got dressed, and turned off the light. How I hoped that this was a dream and that when I woke up, my family wouldn’t be here. What a nice nightmare that would be to wake up from.


	4. Episode II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episode II was shorter, so there was no need to separate it into two parts.

Luther’s alarm clock woke me up, so I was justifiably in an awful mood. I stared at the ceiling in a field of muted color. It took me a groggy minute to figure out what was wrong, but I quickly shifted and got up. 

“Turn off your goddamn alarm clock!” I yelled down the hall. The beeping stopped. I heard Luther get up, the creaking sound of the floorboards as he stretched and got dressed. I did the same. Allison was already up; I could hear her moving around her room as she talked to Luther. I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but it sounded like something that I wouldn’t care about. Instead, I followed the sound of Klaus’s voice to the balcony. For a moment I watched as he tossed and turned, clearly having horrible nightmares. Shifting into a large bird, I perched on the railing, and then flew down to the coffee table. After a second, Klaus bolted upright, hyperventilating. He panted, rolling onto the floor.

“Shut your piehole, Ben.” He snapped at the chair by the fireplace. I shifted, sitting cross legged on the coffee table.

“That’s not the way to speak to your brother.” I quipped.

“Said with love.” Klaus amended, kissing the air. He stopped; clearly listening to whatever Ben was telling him. Coughing, Klaus rummaged through his bag.

“Can’t smoke eggs.” He responded.

“If you’re not gonna eat, maybe at least get dressed?” I offered as Klaus lit a cigarette. He shot me a glare as he walked to the curio cabinet behind Ben’s empty chair.

“One of these has gotta be gold-plated right?” He asked himself. Pogo quietly walked in. If I hadn’t seen him, I wouldn’t have known that he was here. He nodded at me, and then looked at Klaus, who was searching for something. Pogo loudly cleared his throat.

“Christ on a cracker!” Klaus jumped, whipping around. “Pogo?”

“My apologies Master Klaus. I have a query for you.”

“Oh?” Klaus asked as he leaned on the couch behind me. 

“Items from your father’s office have gone missing.” Klaus and I shot each other a nervous glance. “In particular, an ornate box with pearl inlay.” I turned to Klaus, raising an eyebrow.

“Really?” Klaus and I asked in unison.

“Any idea where is went?” Pogo continued.

“Can honestly say that I don’t, Pogo.” I said. Klaus thought for a moment.

“No, no, no. No idea.” He sighed. “Sorry.” Klaus shot a look at where Ben must have been. “Drop dead.” I gasped.

“Klaus. Be nice.”

“Would you two shut up?” He responded.

“Excuse me?” Pogo asked, shocked.

“Pogo, I didn’t mean you, I just… I-“ Klaus started.

Pogo went to leave and Klaus followed him around the living room. “You know, there’s a lot of stuff I’ve been dealing with. Just a lot of memories coming up. All those good times.” Pogo turned and looked up at Klaus. “Well, not so much good times as really awful, terrible, depressing times.” Klaus clarified.

“The contents of that box are…” Pogo searched for a word. “Priceless. Were they to find their way back to the office, whoever took it would be absolved of any blame or consequences.”

“Oh, well, lucky bastard.” Klaus scoffed, taking a drag.

“Indeed.” Pogo clicked his tongue. I tried to sneak away as they were looking at each other, but Pogo must have heard me.

“Oh, and Miss Danielle. Something else went missing from your father’s office yesterday.” He turned towards me.

“Really? What was it?” I asked, trying to seem genuinely interested.

“A small, ornate Fabergé egg. Would you have any ideas where it could be?”

“Honestly Pogo, no idea. Klaus might have taken that too. Honestly, I think he has a drug problem.” I fake whispered, loud enough for Klaus and Ben to hear me. Klaus made a crude gesture behind Pogo’s back. “You could also see if it pops up on a resale site. Whoever Luther thinks killed Dad might have taken it.” Pogo hummed, not quite pleased with my answer.

“Such a mystery Pogo. I’ll keep an eye out, just for you.” I walked away. After a while, hearing Five come in, Vanya come in, and then leaving, I decided to go and see what vigilante stuff Diego was up to. I pushed open the front gate and then shifted into a bird. Diego mentioned in passing that he lived at a gym down in SoHo, but I wasn’t sure which one. So I circled around the borough until I found a shady looking boxing gym, with a familiar shitty car in the back. I went in the alley behind it and shifted back.

The gym was grimy, with old fight posters covering the walls. A fight was in progress, and I quietly tapped the owner on the shoulder. He jumped and turned to me annoyed.

“What?”

“Does Diego Hargreeves work here?” I asked. He sighed.

“You with the gorilla guy who came down earlier asking the same question?” He turned back to the fight. Luther.

“Yeah. We’re siblings.” I answered truthfully. The man nodded.

“So what can you do then? I know about Diego, and I can just assume that the big guy has super strength.” The two opponents had their arms wrapped around each other is a sad attempt to flip each other. It just looked like they were hugging.

“I can shapeshift. Now, where’s Diego staying?” I asked.

“Boiler room.” I slipped away from the fight and went down the stairs. Florescent lights flickered and old fight posters covered the walls. The boiler room door was closed. There was a small hair taped to the wall at shin level, which had been broken. Just like we were taught. I gently pushed the door opened, which creaked slightly. Luther was sitting in an old armchair, reading a magazine. I shifted into a cat, and silently ran down the half flight of stairs.

“Whatcha doin’?” I winced in pain as I shifted back. Smaller animals were the hardest to come back from.

“Jesus!” Luther jumped. “Why do you do that?!” He threw the magazine at me. I laughed and threw it back.

“Shits and giggles. But seriously, what are you doing here?” I sat on Diego’s bed.

“I need to talk to Diego. Alone.” He responded.

“Cool. I’ll wait with you.” Luther sighed, picking up the magazine and continuing to read. After about ten minutes, I heard the door creak open and I gasped, rolling off the bed and hiding against the concrete landing. A knife flew from the doorway and lodged itself in the dresser right next to Luther’s head.

“Ow. What the—“ Luther turned to look at the knife, then back up to the doorway. Diego flipped the light switch.

“I could smell it was you.” He said, closing the door behind him. “Hey Danny.” I stuck a hand up from my hiding place and waved.

“What the hell?” Luther asked, annoyed. He turned to me. “Give me warning next time you ass.” I shrugged.

“You could have killed me.” Luther turned back to Diego.

“If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead.” He held out a hand, and Luther reluctantly gave back his knife. Diego tossed his mask and gloves on the desk and took off his tactical vest. I left my hiding place and sat back on Diego’s bed.

“So why didn’t you tell me?” Luther asked.

“Told you what?” Diego asked innocently.

“That you were fighting the night that Dad died.” Luther held up a poster. “I checked with the guys out there.” Diego closed the fridge door in annoyance.

“Well, I shouldn’t have to prove my innocence to you. Or anyone else in this family.” He responded.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Luther conceded. “But I just thought that—“

“Yeah.” Diego interrupted. “I know what you thought.” He walked over to Luther. “Now, you have a nice day, brother.” Luther set the poster on the dresser.

“All right.” He left the room. Diego sighed, sitting on the bed next to me.

“He still thinks that you could have killed Dad.” I told him. He nodded. 

“Yeah. Surprised that he thinks it’s me though. I wasn’t the only one who had a vendetta against the old man. Vanya and you had as much reason as I did.”

“Hey!” I hit him. “You think that I killed him?!”

“No, no. He died of a heart attack, or heart failure or something. He was old and paranoid, and I’m not overly broken up about it.” He said. “But still. Dad neglected Vanya, and he certainly was hard on you too. He made sure you knew that you were just a replacement for Five and Ben, and a poor replacement at that.” I nodded, picking at a broken thread in my jeans.

“Yeah. Well, if I’m being honest, I wouldn’t be to broken up if someone did kill the old man. Hell, even Pogo and Grace could have had their reasons.” Diego turned to me.

“I don’t think that they would, I’m just saying. He made a lot of enemies.” The voices upstairs were getting fainted and then stopped. A lock clicked. The clock on the wall chimed 9.

“Come on. I gotta close.” He nudged me up. I followed him upstairs and sat on the edge of the ring as he mopped the mud and blood off the floor.

“So how’s Eudora?” I asked, resting my chin on one of the ropes.

“As grumpy as ever. She actually threatened to arrest me for real if I kept helping around with the crime scenes.” He sighed.

“Are you sure that you’re helping?” I asked, gesturing to the police scanner he had set up on the other side of the ring. He shrugged non-committed.

_“We have a 10-14 at Gimbel Brothers department store.”_ A dispatcher’s voice came over the radio. _“Shots fired. Repeat, shorts fired. 6045 Vanderbilt._ ” Diego dropped the mop and ran to the radio. I walked over and slipped between the ropes, jumping to the ground. He took the radio and put it in a duffel bag that was already prepared. 

“Wow. How does this place ever get clean if you’re always running to go fight crime?” I asked. He shot me a look.

“Okay, okay. Be safe alright? I’ll probably see you tomorrow.” I asked, patting him on the shoulder as I left. I shifted into a bat, flying home. As I shifted back, I saw Five walking up, carrying a duffel bag and visibly shaken. There was blood on his collar and shirt that I wasn’t sure was or his.

“You okay?” I asked. He didn’t say anything as he pushed through the front gates. I grabbed his shoulder.

“Hey. What’s wrong?” He shook me off and went inside. I closed the gate and followed him upstairs.

“Five?” Allison asked. Luther was following her, and it looked like they were in the midst of something important. “What the hell happened to you?” He didn’t say anything.

“Are you okay? Can we help?” He reached out a hand, but Five grabbed his wrist.

“There’s nothing you can do. There’s nothing any of you can do.” He left. Allison and Luther both looked at me, still on the stairs. I shrugged, following Five up the stairs. He was in his room, sitting on his bed with his head in his hands.

“They were dead, weren’t they?” I asked from the doorway. He looked up at me.

“What?” He asked hoarsely.

“Whatever you saw in the future, it wasn’t good, was it? Were we dead?” He nodded. “Okay.” I sat on his desk. “What can we do?”

“There’s nothing you can do. It’s going to happen.” Five growled. I hopped off the desk.

“Okay, fine. When is it going to go to shit?”

“A-a week.” He answered. I nodded.

“Well clean yourself up and go to bed. If the world’s gonna end like you say it is and we can’t help, you’re gonna need some sleep.” I closed his door behind me and went to my own room.


	5. Episode III

I woke up at the sound of something rustling through the dumpster behind the academy. Probably just a raccoon. I got up and opened the window with the intent to tell the raccoon to piss off.

“Hey, trash monster! Piss off! Some of us diurnal beings are trying to sleep.” I yelled.

“Oh, Danny, you’re up. And already hurting feelings.” Klaus’s voice wafted up.

“Shit. Sorry Klaus.” I called, closing the window and quickly got dressed. I stepped out onto the fire stairs and walked down until I was at the last level.

“Damn it, where is Dad’s stuff?” Klaus stood in the dumpster, trash bags littered around the alley.

“Shut up!” He called to someone, probably Ben.

“Whatcha doin?” I called down to him.

“I’m trying to find whatever… priceless crap was in the priceless box so that Pogo will get off my ass!” He yelled. Five climbed down the ladder and walked past me, climbing down the next level.

“I’d ask what you’re up to, Klaus, but then it occurred to me… I don’t care.”

“Hey!” Klaus laughed. “You know there are easier ways out of the house, buddy.” Five jumped down.

“This one involved the least amount of talking. Or so I thought.” He went to leave.

“Hey, hey, hey, so…” Klaus pulled out a flask and leaned on the edge of the dumpster. “You need any more company today? I could, uh… clear my schedule.” He took a drink.

“Looks like you got your hands full.” Five responded.

“Oh, this? No, no. I can do this whenever. I’m just—“ He fell in the dumpster. “I just misplaced something. That’s all. Oh!” A victorious cry came from inside. “Found it!” Klaus reappeared with a half-eaten doughnut. “Thank God!” Five and I looked at each other in disgust as he took a bite of the trash food.

“Delicious.” Klaus said.

“I’m done funding your drug habit.” Five told him, turning and leaving.

“Come on! You don’t – Maybe I just wanna hang out with my brother.”

“You don’t wanna hang out with Ben and me?” I asked right as Klaus said, “Not you.”

“Mi Hermano!” Klaus called to Five’s retreating form. “I love you! Even if you can’t love yourself!” Five jumped in a van and started the engine. Tires squealed as he rolled out of the alley and onto the street. Klaus turned and continued to dig through the trash.

“Damn it! It’s not here!” He kicked the side of the dumpster and then climbed out.

“Where are you going?” I yelled at him. Klaus didn’t respond, just turned the corner and left. I sighed, going up and climbing through my window. Meandering my way downstairs, I heard Allison and Luther talking in the living room.

“Hey, Danny. Can you do us a favor?” Luther called as I was trying to sneak past to avoid interaction.

“Depends how much work it is and if money is involved.” I responded.

“Can you go and tell Diego that we need him to come here for a family meeting about Mom?” He asked.

“Why don’t you just call him?” I asked.

“And why do you think that we haven’t tried that?” Allison responded.

“How much are you offering?” I asked.

“Ten. Nonnegotiable.” Luther said. I shrugged, walking out the door and taking a taxi over to the gym. I waved at the guys in the main area and walked down to the boiler room where Diego was.

“Mornin’.” I opened the door a hair before walking in. A knife flew inches from my face as I jumped back. “Good morning sunshine!” I said loudly. He blearily got up and rubbed his eyes.

“What do you want?” He asked.

“Good morning to you too. Luther and Allison want you to get to the house. Something about Grace.” I told him. He nodded and gestured for me to leave. I went back upstairs and watched the remainder of the boxing match.

“Come on.” He pulled me away.

“So what’s this about?” He asked as I climbed in the car.

“I have no idea. One minute I was watching Klaus dig through the dumpster like a possum, I go downstairs, and Luther asks me for a favor.” I told him as we drove to the house. Klaus was already there, as well as Vanya. A small TV was on the bar.

“Diego.” Luther nodded. Diego nodded back. I clicked my tongue as I sat down and Luther glared as he coughed up the money. “Okay, now that everyone’s here, there’s been some development on who killed Dad.”

“No one killed him. You’re the only one looking into this.” I said, exasperated, folding the money in my pocket. Luther shot me an annoyed look as he hit play. The grainy security footage showed Reggie in bed. Grace came in and gave him his nightly tea. He took a drink, and then keeled over.

“You really think Mom would kill Dad?” Vanya asked once it was over.

“You haven’t been home in a long time, Vanya.” Luther responded. “Maybe you don’t know Grace anymore.”

“If he was poisoned, it would have been in the coroner’s report.” Diego said, bringing up a valid point.

“Well, I don’t need a report to tell me what I can see with my own eyes.” Luther gestured at the TV.

“Maybe all that low gravity in space messed with your vision.” Diego responded. He messed with a button on the TV. “Look closer. Dad has his monocle. Mom stands up, monocle gone.”

“Oh yeah.” Klaus laughed, amazed.

“She wasn’t poisoning him. She was… taking it. To clean it.” Diego walked away and leaned on the table.

“Then where is it?” Luther asked. “No. I’ve searched the house, including her things. She doesn’t have it.” Luther protested. Diego was quiet for a moment before answering.

“That’s because I took it from her.” He admitted. “After the funeral.”

“You’ve had the monocle this whole time?” Allison asked angrily. “What the hell, Diego?”

“Give it to me.” Luther commanded.

“I threw it away.” Diego said.

“You what?” Luther asked as Allison scoffed in disbelief.

“Look, I knew that if you found it on Mom, you’d lose your shit, just like you’re doing right now.”

“Diego, you son of a bitch.” Luther said calmly, walking towards him. Diego went into a fighting stance.

“Hey, no. Calm down.” Vanya stood between them. “Look, I know Dad wasn’t exactly an open book. But I do remember one thing he said. Mom was, well, designed to be a caretaker, but… also as a protector.”

“What does that mean?” Allison asked.

“She was programmed to intervene if someone’s life was in jeopardy.” Vanya explained.

“Well, if her hardwire is degrading, then…” Luther looked at us. “We need to turn her off.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait.” Diego said angrily. “She’s not just a vacuum cleaner you can throw in a closet. She feels things, I’ve seen it!”

“She just stood there, Diego, and watched our father die.” Luther argued.

“I’m with Luther.” Allison commented.

“Yeah, surprise, surprise.” Diego responded, turning to her.

“Shut up.” She told him. Luther and Diego turned to Vanya.

“I-I don’t—“ Vanya stuttered.

“Yeah, she shouldn’t get a vote.” Diego said.

“Wait.” I protested.

“I was gonna say that I agree with you.” She told him.

“Okay, she should get a vote.” Diego qualified. He turned to Klaus. “What about you, stoner boy. What do you got?”

“Oh, so, what? You need my help now?” Klaus asked. “Oh, ‘get out of the van, Klaus!’ ‘Well, welcome back to the van.” He scoffed.

“What van?” Allison asked. Luther thought about answering her question before realizing that we were straying from topic.

“What’s it gonna be Klaus?”

“I agree with Diego, because screw you!” He told Luther angrily. Diego pointed to Klaus triumphantly. “And if Ben were here, he’d agree with me.” Ben must have disagreed with him, because he hissed at the armchair in anger.

“So that’s three to two.” Diego said, holding up his fingers.

“Hey!” I protested. “You forgot me.” They turned to me, apparently forgetting that I was there.

“Sorry Danny. So it’s four to two.” Diego turned back to Luther.

“Why don’t I get to choose? You know what? Just for that, I’m with Luther.” I told him. Luther gave me a genuine smile.

“Don’t get too excited. I’m just angry at Diego.” The smile vanished. 

“So what the hell do we do?” Klaus asked.

“Wait, vote’s not final yet.” Allison said.

“What?”

“Five’s not here. The whole family has to vote. We owe each other that.” Allison said, raising a valid point.

“Right.”

“No, we should wait.” Vanya told us. Luther, Klaus, and Allison left the room. Diego looked behind him and saw Grace standing in the doorway. He walked towards her. Vanya and I followed him.

“Hey.” He gently touched her shoulder. It took her a moment to react. “How long have you been here?” Diego asked. She finally looked at him.

“You all seem upset. I’ll make cookies.” She smiled at us and left. We watched her go.

“Do you ever wonder…” Vanya thought aloud. “All those moments with Mom, the things she said. Like was it her, or was it really Dad?”

“What are you talking about?” Diego turned to her.

“Well, he built her. And he programmed her to be a mom, to be our mom. Sometimes when I look at her, I just see him.”

“Well maybe that was true at first. But she evolved.” Diego qualified.

“How do you know?” I asked.

“Because Dad only loved himself.” Diego told us, and then left. I wandered upstairs, through the empty hallways we used for training. I saw the memory, almost like a movie.

_A young girl, appearing around the age of thirteen sat on her bed as the rest of her siblings ran up and down the hall, getting ready for a mission._

_“Danielle honey, aren’t you going with everyone else?” Grace asked from the doorway. The young girl shook her head, looking at the ground._

_“I was told that I wasn’t going. He said I couldn’t control my powers enough to go.” She sniffed. Grace sat next to Danielle on the bed._

_“You’ll get there. But I was also told to give you this.” Grace pulled a suit from behind her back. And then the domino mask._

_“Your dad told me to give you this. It’s just a trial run. But I believe that you can control it. Just remember to breathe and slow down, okay? Don’t lose yourself when you shift, and you’ll be fine. Just remember to keep your instincts human. I know it’s hard. Now get changed. You don’t want to be late.” Grace gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and left the room._

I was snapped out of my daydream. Someone was rattling the front gate.

“Who is it?” I asked aloud, coming down the hallway. Vanya was in her room and looked up from her book in surprise

“I didn’t hear anything. Are you okay?” She asked. I ran down the stairs to the foyer. The gate closed, and then after a moment, it opened again. There was a loud hiss of air, and then the lock popped out. I quickly turned into a raven and flew up to the chandelier. Two figures in matching black suits walked in. The man came into the living room.

“Cha-Cha.” He called to his partner who came and stood next to him.

“That’s our kid.” She replied. I flew down to the ground, walking past the two agents.

“Jesus Christ!” The woman whisper-yelled, before realizing that I was just a raven, and no real threat. They both had guns, and seemed highly trained. They walked up the stairs and through the mostly empty house. I flew away from them and tried to find either Diego or Luther. The attic stairs’ light was on, and I flew up. Luther and Allison were sitting on the attic windowsill.

“Luther!” I shifted back. “Luther!” He turned to me slightly annoyed.

“What?”

“There-there’s people in the house. With guns and masks. I think that they’re-“ Gunshots rang out from downstairs.

“Is that-“ Allison started.

“It’s coming from our bedrooms.” I answered. I led them down the stairs. The two masked intruders were in the living room, shooting at the couch. I shifted into a possum and launched myself at the woman. She stopped shooting and screamed as I dug my nails into her back. She dropped the gun and grabbed me. I bit her hand and slid down her back, leaving gashes in her suit. Luther and Allison ran down the rest of the stairs. Luther grabbed the woman by the collar and threw her into the foyer. I jumped off as he did so and slid into the bar from the momentum. The masked man was going to shot Luther, but Allison came from nowhere and kicked the gun from his hands. The man was mostly unfazed by her attack and grabbed her throat, lifting her off the ground. Diego came running his hiding place behind the couch.

“Let her go!” He jumped on the man’s back and hit him as hard as possible. The man still didn’t seem affected. Luther walked in, punched the man in the gut and then threw him over near his partner in the pink mask.

“Who the hell are these guys?” Allison gasped. I shifted back to Human. I heard the couple say something to the same effect.

“You’re welcome.” Luther told Diego.

“I was doing fine.” Diego responded.

“Oh, yeah. You really had them—‘

“Ever hear of a rope-a-dope?” Diego interrupted. The woman in the pink mask grabbed her gun and began to shot again. We all dove in different directions. I shifted back into the possum and ran behind the bar.

“I’m going after them.” The woman went after Luther and Allison.

“I lost my gun.” Blue Mask replied. He walked in the living room to the curio cabinets that lined the wall. He pulled one open and picked up a mace.

“Hello?” I heard Vanya come the landing. “Guys? Is everyone okay?” Her voice came closer. “Hello? Guys?” Blue Mask hid by the wall. He swung a fist and knocked Vanya onto the coffee table. I let out a war cry and jumped onto his back. I tried to bite his head, but his mask was metal. My claws slid down, and I grabbed onto the collar of his suit jacket. And then I bit his neck. The man yelled and smacked me with the butt of the mace. I fell, stunned.

“Hey asshole.” Luther called from behind us. Blue Mask turned and ran, swinging his mace. I felt blood trickle from my ear, but I got back up. Luther grabbed Blue Mask’s wrist and threw the mace away. But Blue Mask was bigger that what Luther thought. Luther was flipped onto the rug. I pounced again. I bit his neck as hard as I could. His hand reached back and grabbed me and went to throw me, but I whipped myself around, digging all four claws in his forearm. I bit his finger as he tried to shake me off. He threw me against the far wall. I slid down and lied there for a second as I struggled to see past the spots in my vision. The man held his bleeding hand and swore. This gave Luther enough time to start fighting again. They grunted as they continued to fight. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Vanya moving.

“Get out of here Vanya!” Luther yelled as he threw the man down. Blue Mask didn’t move for a moment. Luther stood and walked over him towards where Vanya was. However, faster than what I could register, Blue Mask was up and had Luther in his arms. Together they tumbled to the ground and Luther was motionless. Blue Mask left the room and I darted after him as Allison and Diego came running in.

I let out an angry scream as I bit the back of the man’s leg. He fell to the ground and I scrambled up his body to bite the tendon in his shoulder as hard as I could. I felt something snap and the man yelled in pain. As he stood, I bit his ear and swung around, pulling at his clothes with my claws and biting everything. Something heavy fell in the foyer, and I heard Allison yell something. It was getting harder to distinguish human voices. Blue Mask grabbed me by the tail and swung me as hard as he could against the wall. Pain shot from my back into every limb as I fell down to the ground. I couldn’t breathe or move, could just watch as he ran down the hall, droplets of blood trailing behind him. I shifted, lying in the middle of the hallway.

“Danny! Danny!” Vanya yelled, running towards me after what felt like an hour. “Are you okay? What happened?”

“I’ll be okay. What happened in the foyer? Is everyone okay?” I rasped. She helped me to my feet.

“Yeah. The chandelier fell on Luther, but I think he’ll be okay.” Vanya said, leading me to the living room.

“Jesus Danny. What the hell happened to you?” Allison helped me sit down.

“I got my ass beaten. That’s what happened.” I said. Allison handed Vanya and me a washcloth.

“Who were those people?” Vanya asked.

“I don’t know. But we are lucky to be alive.” Allison responded, sitting on the coffee table. I wiped the blood from my hairline, watching as the washcloth slowly turned pink. I turned to look at Vanya, who was obviously shaken over the whole thing.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked her. Vanya looked up and nodded, probably not okay after all. Diego came in the room, visibly shaking and upset. He started to pace.

“Diego?” Allison asked. He stopped and looked over at us.

“What are you still doing here?” He spat at Vanya.

“I’m just trying to help.”

“No, you could’ve been killed.” He yelled. “Or gotten any of us killed.” He quieted down and turned to Allison.

“She is a liability.” Allison didn’t say anything, looking down at her lap.

“Allison.” Vanya said.

“I think what he’s trying to say is that this kind of stuff is dangerous.” Allison said after a second. “You’re just-“

“Not like you.” Vanya finished her sentence. She looked at Allison, and the nodded, getting up and walking away.

“No, that’s not what I was-“ Allison followed her. “Vanya, wait.”

“That’s exactly what you were saying.” I spat out some blood.

“Let her go.” Diego called. “It’s for the best.” Allison did as he said, stopping in the doorway.

“You’re such an ass.” I told them both as I followed her out the door. A cab had already pulled over and she was climbing in. I stopped at the gates.

“I’m-I-“ Vanya stopped me.

“I know Danny.” She said, getting in the cab and leaving.


	6. Episode IV

“Danny. Danny!” Allison called from the doorway. I woke up, human for once.

“What?” I asked, annoyed.

“Come on. You should see this.” She closed the door behind her. I got dressed as fast as my aching body would permit, and followed her and Luther to the inner balcony. Grace sat there, unmoving.

“What happened to her?” I asked, kneeling in front of her. Luther crouched next to me.

“The two guys last night, the ones with the masks, they did this to her.” Allison said. “It had to do with Five somehow. I mean, they were looking for him.” I turned back to Grace, holding her arm. Wires haphazardly stuck out, and her eyes were open and glazed over.

“I know I was arguing to turn Grace off, but it doesn’t make seeing her like this any easier.” Luther admitted.

“Poor Diego. I mean, this is gonna be so hard on him.” Allison said. I nodded, getting up.

“Yeah, it’s hard on all of us.” Luther said, missing the point. I got up and went back to my room and put my head in my hands. It would be an understatement to call this a hard couple of days.

“Ms. Danielle.” Pogo stood in the doorway.

“Pogo.” He sat next to me. “Did you see what happened to Grace?” He nodded sadly.

“I was the one who told Ms. Allison.” Pogo told me. I nodded.

“Sorry, of course you were. Have you seen Diego or Klaus? Or Five? Those guys were looking for Five for some reason.”

“I have not seen Master Klaus since yesterday midday. Master Diego left shortly after Ms. Vanya did last night, and Master Five has not been here since yesterday morning. I don’t know where any of them are.” There was a rustling sound from Five’s old room. Pogo and I looked at each other and went to figure out what it was.

“Like I said Master Luther, Five hasn’t lived in this room since he was a boy.” Pogo told Luther, who continued to look through his desk.

“Yeah, I know, but we need to warn him. He doesn’t even know we were attacked.” Luther responded. “He doesn’t know they’re looking for him, he doesn’t even know-“Diego walked in, interrupting.

“What are you doing here?” Luther was at a loss for words.

“Uh-“ He started. “Do you know about Mom?” He asked, standing up. Diego looked around for a second.

“Well, it looks like you got what you wanted.” Diego smiled tersely at Luther. “One way or another, right?” Luther looked to me. I shrugged, not sure what he wanted me to do.

“Wanna tell me what you’re doing here?” Luther asked.

“Looking for Five.”

“Oh, let me guess, you’re gonna save the day.” Luther sassed. 

“It’s what I do. Asshole.” Diego responded, he went to leave.

“Really? Last I checked, you mopped floors.” Diego stopped in the doorway. I suddenly didn’t want to be a part of the conversation anymore, but Diego was blocking the doorway.

“And what do you do?” Diego turned back to Luther. “Sit on the moon for four years, waiting for orders?” They each took a step closer to each other.

“Boys. This won’t help us find Five.” Pogo tried to intervene.

“Keep on being a loyal soldier after everything our father did to you.”

“What? You mean save my life?” Luther asked.

“No, I mean.” Diego paused, looking for the right words as he leaned against the dresser. “Turn you into a monster.” Luther punched the dresser, maybe two feet from Diego’s face. Pogo and I looked at each other in moderate worry.

“Can’t hide anymore champ.” Diego said, somewhat smugly.

“He had a difficult decision to make, and he made it.” Luther argued, defending the man who sent him literally off the planet.

“Grow up, Luther. We’re not 13 anymore.” Diego responded, almost pitying Luther.

“That’s what leaders do, by the way.” Luther continued.

“He sent you on that mission all alone.” Diego pointed out. “Almost got you killed.”

“Yeah, well at least he was there. Where were you? You and everyone else in this family?” Luther asked. I stood up, ready to argue, but Pogo gently pulled me back to sit on the bed. “You walked out.” Luther continued.

“And thank Christ I did, or I would have ended up just like you.” Diego growled. “Let me ask you a question. When you watch one of those nature shows…”

“Diego, please.” Pogo interrupted.

“…Does it turn you on?” I laughed in spite of myself.

“So what? Are they just animals to you too now, Diego, huh?” Luther gestured to Pogo and myself.

“Stop it!” I yelled. They both stopped and looked to me in surprise. “This house was attacked last night. We barely got out with our lives. And Grace, well she wasn’t so lucky. Our brother is missing, and this is how you rise to the occasion? Luther, you’re supposed to lead us, and Diego, you’re supposed to help. Now if you’re going to pull this bullshit, take it somewhere else.” I snapped. They just started at me.

“Boys, now.” Pogo said. Luther and Diego looked at each other for a second.

“Sorry Danny.”

“Sorry Pogo.” They each said, leaving the room. I sat back down on the bed, heavily.

“Pogo, I’m human, right?” I asked. Pogo sat next to me.

“More human than them sometimes, I’m afraid.” Pogo said. I smiled slightly to myself, deciding something.

“Pogo, I’ll be back.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to go find Five and help save the world.” I answered. I brushed past Diego, who tried to say something, but I wasn’t willing to listen. I went outside, and shifted, figuring I could get a better angle from the sky. I smelled fire and gasoline downtown, mixed with weed, so I followed that, more out of curiosity than anything. I perched on an awning across the street, and watched as the two masked people from before came stumbling out. Walking over to an abandoned van across the street, they wrote something in the ash and left something on the windshield. They got in an unlicensed black car and slowly drove away, the smell of weed following them out. The building continued to burn, the smell of burnt plastic and chemicals almost too much to bear. Five and a man in a tracksuit came into view. For some reason, Five ran towards the burning building. I quickly shifted and jumped off the awning. He was at the entryway when the building blew up. It threw him back against the sidewalk.

“Five!” I yelled, reaching down to feel for a pulse. He smacked my hand away and I smacked his head. Sirens started about a mile away, and I pulled him to his feet.

“Come on. Police will be here soon, and we need to get the hell away from here.” I told him. He nodded, grabbing his bag and following me. He pulled out a bottle and drank directly from it as we walked away from the heat and police.

“What is this?” I pulled it away from him.

“Hey! I’m over age.” He protested. I took a drink as well.

“That’s not going to be enough for the day I’ve had. We’re taking a detour.” I responded.

~

“How were you even able to buy this? There’s no way you’re 21.” Five said as we sat against the library wall.

“I mean, that’s what my ID says. But I don’t even know at this point.” I responded, taking another drink.

“You’re hogging it.” Five told me. He pulled out half a mannequin from his duffel bag. “Me and Delores want some. Well, she doesn’t drink, but still.”

“Can she even hold her liquor?” I laughed. Five snatched the bottle from me.

“She didn’t like it when I was drunk.” Five slurred. 

“Then put her back in the bag.” I responded, starting to get the giggles. I watched as he pulled out old books covered in writing.

“Is this about the end of the world?” I asked him. He nodded.

“Yeah. But at this point, I’m not even sure how to stop it.” He stopped and thought for a moment. “Wait, so if you shapeshift into animals, if you and let’s say, another cat…” He took a drink before continuing. “If you two-“ I put a hand over his mouth.

“If you finish that thought, I’m going to have to end you before the world does.” I took the bottle from him. “You’re drinking too much.”

“Hey, I’m older than you are. I’m actually 58.”

“You’re still in short pants.” I laughed. A woman walked past us, tsking at us in disapproval. Five and I made a few crude gestures as she turned the corner. He took the bottle and spilled some of it on the gross carpet around us. His head was starting to bob, so I took the bottle from him. He protested weakly, as his head hit my shoulder. I put an arm around him, finishing the rest of the bottle.

“Stop judging me.” I told Delores, who blankly stared at me. A couple of librarians walked by, quietly whispering about unsupervised children. “I’m a responsible adult.” I said aloud. A woman from the retreating group laughed, and then said something about calling security. Two pairs of heavy footsteps came closer. Luther and Diego stood over us.

“Oh, look who it is. The Wonder Twins!” I chucked to myself. “I’m a responsible adult, so I was making sure he was safe.” I said, trying my best to sound sober.

“Are you two-“ Luther started.

“Drunk as skunks.” Diego finished, with a shit eating grin. Diego picked up Five and Delores with one arm.

“Hey, be careful with her.” I said with a small hiccup.

“Oh my God, Danny.” Luther said disapprovingly. “Come on. Let’s go.” I tried to stand up, leaning heavily on the wall.

“Wanna hear something funny? Cause I can’t stand up.” I laughed to myself as Luther picked me up. Luther and Diego walked out of the library. We got a couple of funny looks walking down the street, but soon came to a labyrinth of alleyways.

“Well, we can’t go back to the house.” Luther started. “It’s not secure. Those psychopaths could come back at any moment.

“My place is closer, no one will look for us there.” Diego responded, readjusting Five, who made a hiccupping sigh.

“If you vomit on me.” Diego told Five.

“You wanna know something funny?” He asked.

“I do!” I raised my hand. “What’s funny?”

“Aah!” His head tilted back against Diego’s shoulder. “I’m going through puberty. Twice.” He held up two fingers.

“That’s not funny. That sucks.” I said sadly.

“And I…” Five chuckled to himself. “We drank that whole bottle, didn’t we?” Diego and Luther didn’t answer. “That’s what you do when the world you love goes bye-bye. Poof. It’s gone.” He waved a hand, before holding back onto Diego’s neck.

“What are you guys talking about?” Five stopped, and then asked Luther.

“Two masked intruders attacked the academy last night.” Luther answered.

“They came looking for you.” I pointed at Five. I could already feel my head starting to clear. God bless fast metabolism.

“So I need you to focus.” Diego said. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Something was wrong, but I wasn’t sure what it was. “What do they want?”

“Hazel and Cha-Cha.”

“Who?” Diego asked him.

“You know, I hate code names.” Luther grumbled. I nodded, agreeing with him. I wriggled out of his arms and walked beside him, everything starting to get clearer. But I couldn’t shake the bad feeling.

“They’re the best of the best. Except for me, of course.” Diego passed Five off to Luther, walking ahead.

“The best of what?” I asked, rubbing the back of my neck.

“You know, Delores always said she hated when I drank.” Five said. “She said it made me surly.”

“Hey!” Diego interrupted.

“Hm?”

“I said I needed you to focus.” Diego turned back. “Now what do this Hazel and Cha-Cha want?” Five didn’t answer.

“We just want to protect you.” Diego pushed.

“Protect me.” Five laughed. “I don’t need your protection, Diego. Do you have any idea how many people I’ve killed?” Five asked.

“No.” Diego admitted after a moment of silence. I rubbed the back of my neck.

“I’m the four frickin’ horsemen. And the apocalypse is coming.” He told us. And then he turned his head and started to vomit. We walked back to the gym, past the boxing match going on. I stopped near the front desk.

“Come on.” Diego said, stopping as well. I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to get the hair to stand down.

“Something’s not right. Something’s really wrong Diego.” I admitted.

“You okay?” He asked, somewhat worried.

“Maybe. I’m gonna call the house and Vanya to make sure they’re okay. I’ll be there in a minute.” I told him. Diego nodded. I reached over the desk and grabbed the landline and called the house.

“Hargreeves House.” Pogo answered.

“Pogo, hi. Are Vanya and Allison there?” I asked.

“No Miss Danielle. They are not here.”

“And Klaus?”

“He has not returned.” I hung up the phone. Then I called Vanya’s.

“Yes?” Allison picked up after a moment.

“Hey, it’s Danny. Is Vanya there?” I asked.

“Yeah, she’s right here. Vanya it’s-“ I hung up. Writing on the newspaper caught my eye. There was an address and a short message.

“Shit!” I yelled, catching the attention of the owner.

“You’re Diego’s sister, right? Given anymore thought into my offer?” He asked, coming over from the fight. I nodded, and then shook my head once I thought for more than half a second.

“No. When did she call?” I asked, holding up the paper. The man shrugged.

“Twenty ago? I don’t know. ” I sprinted out of the gym and shifted, flying as fast as I could through the streets, trying to find Calhoun Street. It felt like forever when I landed in the shady motel lot. Shifting into a hound, I sniffed the air. Blood. I shifted again, groaning at the pain in my limbs as I started to run up the stairs. I prayed that I was wrong, and it was someone else dead, but my gut told me what I was going to find. I ran down the covered hallway and stopped at the only open door.

A beautiful woman was lying face down on the scratchy rug, with a bullet hole in her back.

“No, no, no.” I felt for a pulse, and didn’t feel anything. She was still warm. “Come on Patch. Come on.” I cried. “Come on.” I rolled her over and started to rhythmically pound on her chest, but I knew it was pointless.

“Klaus?” I heard Diego’s voice a few minutes later, when I had finally given up. She was starting to get cold, no matter what I did. I leaned against the bed, covered in her blood. Diego came to the doorway and looked inside.

“No, no, no!” He yelled, pulling off his gloves and sinking next to her. “Eudora! No, no, no!” He pounded the ground next to her.

“Diego.” I called to him, but he didn’t acknowledge me. I squatted next to him and reassuringly touched his shoulder. Without thinking, he whipped around and punched me right in the face. I fell back against the wall, my vision blurry. I could already feel my face starting to swell. Diego started to sob, so I decided that it would be best if I left. As I flew away, I saw police cars pull up to the motel. Landing at the doorstep of the gym, I picked the lock and went down to the boiler room.

“Diego, what-“ Luther stopped as soon as he saw me.

“Jesus Danny, what happened to you?” He asked. Five was still sleeping on Diego’s bed, passed out.

“She, uh, Diego’s detective was dead. And-uh, I probably could have stopped it if I hadn’t been at the library drinking with Five.” I answered. 

“The people who killed her did this to you?” Luther asked. I shook my head.

“No, I got there ten minutes before Diego did, and by that time she was already dead. I tried everything Luther, I really did, but the people who did it had already left.” I wiped the tears from my good eye.

“So who did this to you?” Luther asked again. I didn’t respond. “Danny.” He repeated his question. “Who did this to you?”

“When Diego got there, I had- I had stopped trying, because there was nothing I could do. Luther, if I had waited to see what those people wrote on the windshield, I might have stopped them. I could have saved her. They were the same people who attacked the academy. Even wearing the same masks.” I shook my head. It was starting to get hard to talk. Most of the left side of my face was now swollen.

“Diego hit you, didn’t he?” Luther asked gently. I nodded, looking at the ground. Luther came over and did something incredibly strange. He came over and wrapped his huge arms around me in a hug. And then I did something even stranger. I reciprocated.

“I just came to say that I don’t think he should be here when Diego comes back.” I said, mumbling.

“Honestly Danny, I don’t think that you should be either.” Luther responded. “I’m going to take you to Vanya’s. Allison is there too, and I think it would be best.” He wrapped an arm around me and led me up the stairs.

“What about Five?” I asked, looking over my shoulder. He was still sleeping.

“He’s a grown up. He can take care of himself for half an hour. Come on.” Luther led me out of the gym and into the alleyway. “I’m going to call Vanya.” He pulled out his phone.

“No. I don’t want to go to Vanya’s and have Allison fake fawn over me. I need to be alone.” I told him.

“Danny, you need someone to help, make sure that you’re really okay. You could really be hurt.” Luther pointed out. I knew he was right.

“I want to go home. I’m going to go back to the house. Pogo will be there and so will-“ I stopped. “Pogo will be there if I need anything.”

“I really think that you should go to Vanya’s.” Luther responded. I started to walk away from him.

“I need to lick my wounds, and den a little.” I said, turning the corner to the street.

“What does that mean?” Luther yelled after me. I walked the half mile home, the cold wind feeling good on my face. I opened the gate and walked inside, around the broken chandelier. As I went upstairs, I saw Grace’s shadow against the wall of portraits. I stopped and walked over.

“Grace?” Her eyes were still unmoving and glazed over. I sat next to her, holding her frozen hand. The wires still poked out of her wrist. I leaned my head against her shoulder, remembering the numerous times I sat her as a child, holding her hand as we stared at the portraits when I couldn’t or didn’t want to sleep. I nodded off.


	7. Episode V

“Rough night?” Five’s voice woke me up. I sat up, blinking in the sun. Memories of last night came rushing back and I groaned, remembering why exactly my half of my face hurt.

“Well I hope the other guy looks worse.” Five responded to my grunt. I stood up and stretched.

“I can tell you he certainly feels worse.” I followed him towards the bedrooms. In the crossway of the bedrooms and the bathroom, there was a line of bloodied footprints leading from the bathroom to Klaus’s room. I pointed to the floor. Five nodded.

“Oh boy.” We heard Klaus sigh from his room. I knocked on the door as Five and I stood in the doorway.

“You okay?” Five asked.

“Hey.” Klaus breathed, turning around. “Yeah, I just- long night.” Klaus looked different, stronger. Like he had actually been eating.

“More than one, by the looks of it.” Five responded.

“Yeah.” 

“Don’t remember the dog tags.” Five pressed.

“Yeah, they belonged to a friend.” That rang false.

“How about that new tattoo?” I asked, my words barely understandable.

“You know, I don’t totally remember even getting it.” Klaus said. “Like I said, it was a long night.” He seemed like he was getting tired of the questions.

“You did it, didn’t you?” Five continued.

“What are you talking about?” Klaus scoffed.

“You know, I can recognize the symptoms Klaus.” Five walked inside the room.

“Symptoms of what?” Klaus asked, sitting on his bed. I came in as well, sitting next to him.

“The jet lag. Full body itch. The headache that feels like someone shoved a box of cotton up into your nose and through your brain. You gonna tell us about it?” Five asked.

“Your pals, when they broke into the house and they couldn’t find you, they took me hostage instead.” Klaus said, looking up at Five.

“And in return, you stole their briefcase.” Five scoffed, turning away.

“Yeah. I thought there was money in it, or I could pawn it, you know, whatever.” Klaus shrugged and then sighed. “And then I opened it.”

“And the next thing you knew, you were… where?” Five asked. “Or should I say when?”

“What difference does it make?” Klaus asked. His voice was hollow.

“What diff—uh. Okay, how long were you gone?” Five started to pace.

“Almost a year.” Klaus responded.

“A year?” Five actually seemed aghast for a moment. “Do you know what this means?”

“Yeah, I’m ten months older now.” Klaus gave a small laugh.

“No, this isn’t any sort of a joke, Klaus.” My ears pricked at a noise down the hall. I left them to their arguing to investigate. It took me to Diego’s room. I watched silently as he opened the briefcase, carefully putting his numerous knives inside. He stood up with his briefcase. He turned to the doorway and I quickly ducked out of sight.

“Danny?” He asked, peering out of the doorway. I went to walk away, but he grabbed my wrist.

“What happened to-“ The memories of last night came back to him, and he stopped mid-sentence. “Oh. Danny, I’m so-“ I pulled my wrist from his grasp.

“Don’t worry about it. It was my fault anyways.” I answered.

“No it wasn’t. If you were there, they probably would have just killed you too. Here, let me take a-“ I didn’t listen to the rest of his sentence as I walked away. Diego sighed, but didn’t follow after me, instead going downstairs.

“Hey.” I knocked on Five’s open door. He stopped writing on the wall and turned.

“What?” He snapped.

“Hey. Do not take that tone with me.” I responded equally harsh. “I’d bet that you need some help, and that you’re too self-centered to ask for it.” I looked around the walls, every inch covered in chalk equations. Five waved for me to come in.

“What’s this?” I asked, sitting on his desk.

“I’m trying to figure out who’s going to start the apocalypse.” He said, continuing to write.

“And then what are you going to do? Kill them before they do it?” I asked. Five stopped writing and looked at me.

“Oh.” I stopped flipping through the papers on his desk. “You sure about this?”

“Yes. It’s the only thing left that I can do to stop it.” He responded

“How many people have you narrowed it down to?”

“So far, four.” He said. I came over and looked at the names.

“Okay. I’ll be back.” I told him. He nodded, continuing to write. I walked down the halls to Dad’s office. The door creaked as I opened it and dust flew as I turned on the light and ceiling fan. I studied the wall of his old firearms, seeing an empty spot where his old hunting rifle used to be. Next to it was a small revolver, something easily hidden. I grabbed it and walked back to Five’s room.

“-To shoot a rhinoceros.” I walked back into Five’s room.

“Okay, so who’s the first one?” I asked, putting the last bullet it and closing the cylinder.

“Jesus, you too Danny?” Luther asked indignantly. I stopped in the doorway.

“Shit.”

“You can’t—This guy Milton is just an innocent man.” Luther gestured to the list of names above Five’s bed.

“It’s basic math. His death could potentially save the lives of billions.” Five argued. “If we did nothing, he’d be dead in four days anyway. The apocalypse doesn’t spare anyone.”

“We don’t do this kind of thing.” Luther said, looking at both Five and me.

“ _You_ are not doing anything. We are.” I told him.

“I’m not letting you two go and kill innocent people. No matter how many lives you’ll save.”

“Well good luck stopping us.” Five grabbed the rifle and we were about to leave when Luther grabbed Delores by the neck and hung her out the window.

“Woah.” I yelled as Five whipped around and trained the rifle on Luther.

“Put… her… down.” Five growled.

“Put the gun down. You’re not killing anyone.” Luther was dead calm. “I know she’s important to you, so don’t make me do this.” Five didn’t say anything, but his hands were starting to shake.

“It’s either her or the gun. You decide.” Five didn’t move, so with the slightest motion of his hand, he dropped her. In a split second, with a blue flash, Five was there, holding her. When he turned around, Luther was already holding the rifle.

“I can keep doin’ this all day.” He said. Five took Delores away from the window and sat down with her on his bed. “I know you’re a good person Five. Otherwise you wouldn’t have risked everything coming back here to save us all. But you’re not on your own anymore.” Five was looking off in the distance, like he was weighing the consequences.

“There is one way.” He said after a second. He turned to Luther and me. “But it’s just about impossible.

“Hello?” I said sarcastically, gesturing at the three of us.

“And more impossible than what brought you back here?” Luther asked. Five turned back to Delores. He set her down on the bed and went to his desk.

“Danny, I need you to deliver a letter.” Five handed me a piece of paper with a sticky note attached.

“Why me? Have Luther do it.” I said.

“Yes, because he’s far more conspicuous than you. Besides, if you do run into Hazel and Cha-Cha, there’s a chance they won’t recognize you.” Five said sarcastically. “I can guarantee that they’ll recognize me on sight, and probably Luther too, considering his-“ Five gestured vaguely to Luther. “But you, if they don’t pay attention, they might not recognize you. Just, wear a hoodie so they don’t think you’ve been beaten with a bat.” I nodded, gingerly touching the side of my face.

“Fine.” I went back to my room and grabbed an oversized hoodie that used to belong to Klaus. I opened my bedroom window and shifted. Carefully taking the rolled up note in my talons, I flew off. As I landed, my eye caught a dark green car parked conspicuously behind an ice cream truck. Diego. I pulled the hoodie low over my face and went to the front desk.

“Can you give this to the two people who checked in yesterday afternoon? Should be a large man and a smaller, angry woman.” I read the post-it aloud to the desk clerk. He shrugged and took the note from me. “Thanks.” He shrugged again. I left the office and shifted again. Pain radiated through my legs as I scampered underneath the ice cream truck to watch. The man took the letter to a room on the second floor, an arm grabbing the letter and closing the door in his face. As soon as the man had gone back to the office, Diego got out of the car and carefully placed something at the bottom of the car in front of the stairway. Must be a bug. A few minutes passed. Then the large man opened the door with an ice bucket in hand, and then went down the hall. Diego’s car door opened.

“Stay here.” He said to someone inside, probably Klaus. I slinked out from under the car and followed him.

“Danny?” Klaus scared the shit out of me. I turned around and looked up at him. I shifted into a bird and flew up to the second floor landing, and then shifted again, sitting on the railing. Klaus ran to the staircase. Diego just reached the second floor.

“So, what exactly is the plan here, big guy?” Diego jumped before sighing in annoyance, then turning to Klaus.

“I told you to wait in the car.” Diego said.

“Yeah, but you also told me that licking a nine-volt battery would give me pubes.” Klaus responded.

“Ew.” I jumped off the railing. Diego pulled out a knife, but I pulled back my fist.

“No. I will end you.” I growled. Diego put the knife back in his belt. Klaus moved to pass him on the stairs, but Diego grabbed the back of his coat.

“Uh-uh, uh-uh.”

“What? Come on.”

“For once, I need you to listen to me okay?” Diego asked. I followed them down the stairs. “Now, go back to the car. If I don’t come out in two minutes, that means I probably dead. So, if that happens, go get help. Okay?” He held Klaus by the shoulders.

“Yeah, okay. Okay, okay, okay.” Klaus sighed.

“Okay, so what are we doing?” I asked as he turned to go back up the stairs.

“Shit. No.” Diego said. “You are staying with Klaus.” He picked me up by the forearms and put me on the first step. “Make sure he stays here.”

“I’m not his keeper!” I yelled at him. Diego didn’t say anything, just pointed to the car. We were walking towards the car when I heard a familiar car engine. I grabbed Klaus by the back of his jacket and shoved him back towards the staircase as I dove behind the ice cream truck. The blue car from before came roaring around the corner, both people inside shooting; the woman towards Diego, and the man towards Diego’s car. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to be as small as possible behind the truck. They sped away. Diego and Klaus came running towards me after a few seconds.

“Shit.” Klaus breathed.

“Get in the car.” Diego commanded the both of us. I pointed to the tires. Diego sighed in annoyance. Klaus kicked the tires a few times, although I wasn’t sure what help that was.

“Was this all part of your master plan?” Klaus asked, leaning on the back of the ice cream truck.

“Shut up.” Diego said, looking at the street. I pulled out my phone and texted Luther a thumbs up.

“Hm.” Klaus hummed to himself in disapproval. I sat on the bumper of the ice cream truck before getting an idea. I climbed on it and tried the handle, but it was locked. There was a small gap where a gunshot had pulled part of the metal away from the door. I turned back to Klaus, who was drinking vodka out of a bottle like it was water, and Diego, who hadn’t moved. I shifted into a rat, squeezing my way inside the truck.

“Jesus.” I whispered to myself. It never got easier. I carefully got to the front of the truck and unlatched the doors.

“Hey guys!” I rolled down the window and hocked the horn. Diego and Klaus whipped around to look at me. Klaus bolted to the driver’s seat, and Diego climbed over him to the passenger’s side.

“Good job kid.” Diego squeezed my shoulder as Klaus got the engine going. We followed the tracker that Diego had on their car, leading us out of the city and towards the middle of nowhere. Klaus stopped the truck right behind a grove of trees.

“Are we sure they’re both there?” He asked us.

“Hold on. Roll down the window.” I told him. I climbed over Klaus and flew out of the truck. I circled above the trees, seeing Luther’s car, as well as Hazel and Cha-Cha’s. I landed on top of the truck and shifted back.

“Yeah. They’re both there. Luther’s got the briefcase, and Hazel and Cha-Cha are there too.” I told them. Diego nodded to Klaus, who gunned the engine and turned the corner. Klaus, as we got close enough to see what was happening, turned on the music. Ride of the Valkyries blared from tinny speakers.

“Go faster!” Diego yelled. We passed Luther and Five, who stared at us in dumbfounded silence. Klaus waved, and Luther hesitantly waved back. Hazel and Cha-Cha didn’t move, and with a thump, they were flying through the air. They landed on the pavement about ten feet away. Klaus was going to stop, but the truck slammed into the back of their car, throwing the three of us forward. I slammed into the dashboard between Klaus and Diego, feeling a hard pop in my shoulder and hitting my face on the hard plastic. I felt a trickle of blood come from my nose.

“Good God!” Diego groaned. Klaus swore under his breath, and I tried to remember how to breathe again.

“Five!” Luther yelled. In the rearview mirror, I saw Hazel and Cha-Cha get slowly to their feet. Luther held out the briefcase.

“Come get it!” He yelled, throwing it as hard as he could. It fell heavily in the parking lot we were next to. Luther ran to the truck as Klaus and I spilled out. I fell onto the pavement, the jostling of my shoulder sending pain down my arm.

“Come on, come on.” Klaus turned to Diego and helped him out of the car. Luther grabbed me by the waist and pulled me to my feet, the four of us limp-running to the car.

“What the hell are you guys doing here?” Luther asked us.

“What are we doing here? Why the hell are you here? Where’s Five?” Diego argued.

“Get in the car!” Luther yelled. The three of us tumbled in the back seat. I fell back onto Klaus, and my shoulder popped back into place with the impact. I quickly climbed over into the front seat as Luther started the car.

“Luther! Go, go, go!” I yelled, looking in the rearview mirror. Cha-Cha was in the middle of the road, opening the briefcase and Hazel was trying to run towards us. The tires screeched as we drove off. Klaus turned as gave them the finger as we drove over the hills.


	8. Episode VI

“Danny?!” I ignored Luther’s voice, filling another icepack for my shoulder and face. He thumped down the stairs to the kitchen.

“I was calling for you.” He said, exasperated.

“Yeah, and I was ignoring you.” I responded, hissing as the cold touched my swollen nose. Luther beaconed for me to follow him upstairs. Diego was already in the living room, his arm in a sling. I sat across from him and stretched out on the loveseat.

“You look like shit.” Diego told me.

“Pot calling the kettle black?” I responded. “You don’t look too good either, asshole.”

“I’m going to go get Klaus.” Luther pushed himself off the bar and went upstairs. The gate opened, and then the door.

“Guys?” Allison called from the foyer.

“In here.” Diego responded. Allison came in with a drink holder full of coffee. She set it down on the bar and sat on one of the stools. I got up and grabbed one.

“Jesus Danny. What the hell happened to you?” I had pulled the ice pack away from my face to drink, and then put it back on.

“Ask Diego what happened.” I said. Diego glared at me.

“You broke her nose? What the hell Diego?” Allison asked angrily.

“I definitely didn’t do that. Yes, I punched her in the face, but it was Klaus’s bad driving that gave her this.” Diego gestured to his own nose. “Besides, I got shot. So it’s not all about you now Danny.” I gestured crudely at him. Luther came in then, followed by Klaus. They both grabbed coffee and Klaus sat on the ground, leaning against where I was lying.

“Okay guys. So here’s the deal. We have exactly three days to stop the apocalypse.” Luther started.

“Three days?” Allison asked in disbelief. She handed Luther the last coffee.

“Yeah, that’s what Five said.” Luther responded.

“The old bastard did mention the apocalypse, come to think of it.” Klaus said. “He just left out the part about how soon.”

“But can we trust him? I don’t know if you noticed, but Five’s a little…” She whistled like a cuckoo clock.

“Our little psycho.” Klaus chuckled.

“He was pretty convincing.” Luther interrupted. “If he wasn’t trying to stop an apocalypse, those lunatics wouldn’t be chasing him.”

“That’s why they were after him?” Diego asked. Luther confirmed this.

“What did Five even see?” Allison asked. Luther stopped, trying to think of something other than the truth.

“Uh… apparently, we all fought together against whoever was responsible.” He stopped abruptly. He clicked his tongue. “Okay, so here’s the plan.” He got up to pace. “Uh, we got through Dad’s research—“

“Wait, what?” Allison interrupted. Klaus and Diego disagreed as well.

“Wait a tick, wait a tick.” Klaus waved his hand. “What actually happened the first time around?” I took off my ice pack to truly look at Luther. He turned to me, still not saying anything.

“Yeah, what are you not telling us? Come on, big boy, spit it out.” Diego encouraged. Luther looked at his coffee and then at me again.

“We, uh, we died.” I said, taking a sip of coffee.

“What was that?” Allison snapped towards me.

“Uh, she said, we died.” Luther told her.

“That’s not true.” Allison denied.

“That’s what Five told me. We died trying to save the world. Dead, dead, gone. Poof.” I said, putting the ice back on my face. Diego moved around to the other side of the bar.

“And he’s sure?” Allison continued. I sat up, annoyed.

“Well, he seemed pretty distraught about it, so I’m going to go with a firm yes. The apocalypse happened, and we died trying to stop it, or stop whoever starts it.” I said. I heard footsteps above us on the landing, but just figured it was Pogo moving around. I pulled up a barstool and climbed onto the bar.

“Well, is it just us?” Allison asked.

“It’s everybody.” Luther said.

“Okay, in the house.” Diego said.

“No.”

“The whole planet?”

“No, outside the house. Everyone died.” I explained.

“Hey.” We all turned, surprised to see Vanya standing there. A man stood next to her. “What’s going on?” We all tried to think of a good reason she wouldn’t be invited. Diego and I turned to each other. Klaus closed his eyes. I readjusted the ice pack on my shoulder.

“It’s a-a family matter.” Allison told her. I leaned over and softly smacked her shoulder, gesturing to Vanya.

“A family matter. So, you couldn’t bother to include me.” Vanya smiled coldly.

“No, it’s not like that, we were—“ Luther turned to Allison for support, but she had nothing.

“Don’t let me interrupt.” Vanya went to leave, followed by her guy person.

“Vanya,” Allison went to follow her. “I’ll fill you in later when we’re alone.”

“Please, please, don’t bother. And I won’t either.” Vanya stopped.

“Vanya, that’s not fair.” Allison said. I sucked air through my teeth. Bad word choice.

“Fair?” Vanya repeated. The guy stopped right behind her, coldly staring at Allison. So far, I did not like this guy. “There’s nothing fair about being your sister. I have been left out of everything as long as I can remember. And I used to think it was Dad’s fault, but he’s dead. So it turns out, you’re the assholes.” Vanya left. The guy stayed for just a second, smirking at us before leaving. I head murmuring and then footsteps on the stairs. I slid off the bar and silently went up to the landing. The man from before was staring at the figurines of us. He had his hands in his pockets and was just staring at the little figures behind glass.

“Holy shit.” He breathed, jumping as he saw me staring at him. I didn’t move or say anything. “Sorry. I was just looking for my coat.” I pointed to where it hung on the banister.

“Yeah, yeah. Thanks.” I still didn’t say anything, trying to figure out why this guy gave me such a bad feeling. “So, uh. Do you blink, or is that one of your things? Vanya hasn’t told me much about you, powers-wise. Just that you two were closer than the others.” He was rambling, but it felt forced.

“I can, but I don’t. I just don’t want to miss anything important.” I told him.

“Okay, I guess that’s fair.” He admitted, getting his jacket. He brushed past me and I turned to watch him leave. Maybe the bad feeling would leave with him. He turned back to me and gave a nervous wave before he closed the front door. I went back downstairs, but no one was in the living room but Luther.

“What happened?” Luther turned to me.

“Uh, apparently our siblings don’t think it’s worth it to stop the apocalypse.”

“That’s not true.” I argued. I didn’t want to believe it.

“Allison said that since we lost last time without him, it’s not worth doing anything until Five comes back.” Luther brushed past me. I stared at his retreating for, not sure what to do now. I wasn’t ready for the world to end yet. I had so many things to do still. I went up to the roof, tried to get some clean air. After a while, I’m not sure how long, I heard one of the attic windows open. Diego and Klaus were talking. I got up and walked over to the voices, leaning over the edge of the room so I could see inside.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.” Klaus groaned. I wasn’t quite sure what was happening. Diego was tying Klaus to a chair with rope, and apparently Klaus wasn’t upset with it. Diego yanked on the rope.

“Aah!” Klaus hissed.

“If I see a boner, I’m out.” Diego said.

“Ew.” I dropped into the room, falling onto the floor. “What the hell are you idiots doing?”

“End of the world and he wants to get sober all of a sudden.” Diego was walking around Klaus, wrapping the rope tighter.

“I mean, good for you. But since you don’t need ‘em anymore, I might want some considering it’s the end of the world.” I added from the sill. “

“Yeah, I thought you’d be popping every pill on the planet.” Diego agreed with me.

“Oh, the thought did cross my mind, believe me, but…” Klaus sighed. “There’s something I need to do, and the whole pesky thing doesn’t seem to work unless I’m sober.” Diego was done tying Klaus up and was kneeling, trying to tie a strong enough knot.

“Is this about conjuring the one you lost?” Diego asked. Klaus gave a hefty sigh. I got up and walked over to help Diego. I quickly began tying a knot stronger than even a supernatural junkie.

“What was her name?” Diego asked, watching as I tied it. There wasn’t a response right away, and we both looked up at Klaus.

“ _His_ name was Dave.” Diego glanced at me, but Klaus continued. “We soldiered together in the A Shau Valley… in the Mountain of the Crouching Beast.”

“Well, Dave must have been a very special person, to put up with your weird-ass shit.” Klaus snorted, and for the first time in a long time, he looked genuinely happy.

“Yeah,” he laughed. “Yeah, he was, he was kind, and strong, and vulnerable, and…” Klaus trailed off.

“Smoking hot?” I offered.

“Beautiful.” Klaus corrected me, his eyes a million miles away. “Beautiful, and I was foolish enough to follow him all the way to the front line.

“You fought in the shit?” Diego asked.

“Oh yeah, baby.” He sighed again.

“How’d they let you do that?”

“Let me? War couldn’t take enough bodies. Please.” Klaus gave a mirthless laugh. “Including his.” His eyes weren’t smiling anymore.

“Hey, look at us.” Klaus gestured with the his hands, which were tied to his side. “Loggin’ in some quality sibling time before the end of the world.” I bit off the ends of the knot with my teeth and stood up.

“Yeah, might as well.” Diego said, fixing some of the rope around Klaus’s shoulder. “Everyone I like is already dead.

“Ah yes, the lady cop.” Klaus recalled. Diego glanced briefly at me, but I didn’t meet his eyes.

“Yeah, mom too. I let them both down.” Diego tightened some of the rope. “So here I am, alone with you.” They looked soulfully into each other’s eyes for a moment before Diego and I went to leave.

“Ah,” Klaus hissed gently. We looked back.

“I need to pee.” Klaus explained. Diego rolled his eyes. I came back to Klaus.

“Well then it looks like you need to get sober real quick, huh?” I gently bumped my forehead to his. “Best of luck buddy.” I went back to Diego, and went to go down the stairs.

“Come on Danny.” Diego put out an arm to stop me. “We can’t leave him.”

“Why not? That’s exactly what I intend to do. Next, I plan to get absolutely shit faced.” Diego didn’t budge. “He can pee there.”

“that’s disgusting Danny. These are wood floors.” Diego brought up. I scoffed.

“And you’re an interior decorator? Who cares?”

“It’d leak through the boards into the third floor.” He had a point, but I still didn’t like it.

“Come on.” I whined. Diego walked back to Klaus and looked at the knot.

“Wanna help?” He asked, nodding at the knot. I glared at him as I bent down and untied it. Diego then untied Klaus.

“Here we go. Get you goin’ here. A quick—“ Klaus quickly stood up.

“You, know, no, I – I think – I think this was – I think this was a bad idea.” Klaus started to walk around the chair, ignoring Diego’s protests.

“I just need one last hit to ease me into it. That’s all I need.” Klaus tried to convince Diego. Diego looked back at me, and I gave him an ‘I freaking told you so’ look. Klaus came towards the stairs, and me.

“Mm-hmm. No, no, no.” Diego blocked him, but Klaus ducked under his arm.

“I’ll be right back.”

“I don’t think so.” I said, blocking the stairs. Diego stood by me and shook his head.

“Danny.” Klaus tried. I didn’t budge, instead crossed my arms and tried to look tough. “That’s not how it works. Diego.”

“Sit down.” I commanded.

“Diego, listen. Just listen.” Klaus pleaded.

“Sit.” I repeated.

“Danny, listen. Just listen.” Klaus tried to push past me, but I panicked. And apparently my panic involves gut punching my brother.

“Sit your ass down.” Diego guided the bent-over Klaus back to the chair. Diego looked back to me and nodded briefly in approval . “Sit down. Sit down.” Klaus did as he was told, trying to get his breath back. He coughed as Diego retied his hands, and began to wrap the rope around the chair again. 

“Damn it Diego!” Klaus thrashed as Diego looped the rope around his legs. “Damn it! Stop it!” Diego continued to wrap. Klaus thrashed harder, rocking the chair side to side. “Get off! Get off! Get—Get off!” Diego stopped tying, instead holding Klaus in a loose head lock.

“Listen, Listen. Listen to me.” Klaus stopped struggling for a moment, so Diego went back to tying his waist to the chair. “I can conjure her for you.”

“Stop, stop.” Diego was starting to get upset. I felt my own face flush as I remembered Diego’s now former partner.

“Patch! I can-“ I didn’t realize how upset I was, but in an instant I was by the chair. I roughly grabbed Klaus by the hair and yanked his head back.

“Don’t you use her goddamn name like that!” I yelled. They both stopped in surprise. “Don’t you use her name at all.” Diego and I locked eyes. I nodded at Klaus and Diego continued to tie him to the chair.

“Just let me go.” Klaus begged.

“You can’t conjure shit until you’re clean.” I said, shaking him. I released his head.

“I don’t want to see her. Not until I can tell her that I buried the bastards that killed her.” Diego said. He continued to tie, and roughly finished it with a knot.

“Diego, Diego please.” Klaus whimpered. Diego turned and grabbed an old coffee bucket.

“This,” He said, sitting it down in Klaus’s lap. “This is for next time. Puke, pee, whatever you need. Multipurpose. See?” He stood up gestured for me to follow.

“Danny,” Klaus said, starting to cry. “Danny.” I looked back through the half-built wooden beams in the attic. Diego wrapped an arm around me shoulders and led me away. “Diego, please come back! You prick!” I blinked away the oncoming tears as Diego and I went downstairs. I split off from him at the second floor landing, and we silently went our separate ways.

I was going to my room, but stopped when I heard Grace’s voice. Which was impossible. I ran down the stairs to the living room balcony. Diego was talking to Grace in a hushed tone, and from my vantage point, I saw something that Diego couldn’t: Pogo shaking his head at Grace, and then closing the secret door behind the bookcase. Diego took Grace’s hand and they left the house. I quietly came down and pushed the door to our father’ study open.

“Ms. Danielle. What are you doing?” Pogo asked surprised. Papers were littered on the desk, and books laid open on every available surface.

“I think that the more necessary question is; what are you doing, Pogo?” I asked, blocking the doorway.   
“I am quite confused by your tone Ms. Danielle, but I am going over your father’s books to see if he left any clues prior to his untimely and unfortunate death.” Pogo responded. I flipped open a book, feigning interest, and Pogo resumed his own work, sitting at the desk and reading reports in thick manila folders.

“I apologize for my obtrusion.” I blurted out after a moment. Pogo set his glasses up on his head and looked at me.

“What is the matter Ms. Danielle? Something appears to be wrong.” He actually sounded concerned, which only made me madder.

“Something is wrong Pogo.” I sat across from him in the uncomfortable parlor chairs facing the desk. “You lied to Diego. And I think you’re lying to us too.” He didn’t hide his surprise.

“Whatever do you mean?” The innocence he was faking was almost believable.

“How is Grace up and about? And why, when Diego was asking her what she remembered, you just happened to appear, and alter the facts? What are you hiding?” I stood up and leaned on the desk.

“What happened to Dad? What really happened to him when he died?” I growled. Pogo opened his mouth, but apparently couldn’t find something convincing enough, and closed it. He stood and closed the door behind me, and then started to pace the study.

“Ms. Danielle, I have something to confess.”

~

“Hold-hold the phone. We all died fighting this thing the first time around.” Klaus raised a valid point.

“Klaus shockingly, has a point. What gives us a win this time?” Diego asked.

“Because we know about-“Before I could finish my equally valid point, a blue light appeared next to me on the bar. I shifted in surprise as Five tumbled out. I had jumped behind the couch. I reappeared as the light dimmed.

“you guys, am I still high, or do you see him, too?” Klaus asked as he stood up. Five tumbled off the bar, and laid there stunned for a moment. We all rushed over.

“Five? Are you all right?” Allison asked. Luther helped him to his feet.

“Who did this?” He asked. Five brushed off their concern.

“Irrelevant.” He muttered, walking past them and into the middle of the room. He turned to face us. “So the apocalypse is in three days. The only chance we have to save our world is, well, us.”

“The Umbrella Academy.” Luther said.

“Yeah, but with me, obviously.” There was the smart-assery that I hadn’t missed. “So if y’all don’t get your sideshow acts together and get over yourselves, we’re screwed. Who cares if Dad messed us up? Are we gonna let that define us? No.” Klaus shook his head in agreement with Five’s rousing speech. “And to give us as fighting chance to see next week, I’ve come back with a lead.” He held up a folded piece of paper. “I know who’s responsible for the apocalypse.” Allison held out her hand and he gave her the paper. We all gathered around as she unfolded it. “This is who we have to stop.” He said.

The paper simply read _Reassignment: Protect Harold Jenkins._

“Harold Jenkins?” Allison asked.

“Who the hell is Harold Jenkins?” Diego asked


	9. Episode VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, but Danny wasn't able to be in most of this.

A bell rang down the hall, waking me up. I groaned as I sat up, not immediately knowing why I wasn’t in my room, or in my bed, or why, for once, I actually woke up human. The previous night came rushing back, and I vaguely remembered Luther stumbling home, high as a kite, and drunk as a skunk.

“Wakey, wakey! Eggs and bakey!” Klaus sang down the hallway to Luther’s room. I followed the sounds of Luther and Klaus talking, and laughed as I turned the corner. Luther was wrapped in a duvet, and there was a mystery woman in his bed. Luther glared at Klaus and me, and hastily closed the door.

“Oh, come on, don’t be so shy, big guy. You needed it!” Klaus told him. “Not a lot of ladies on the Moon, I assume. And all that… pressure resting on those big, hairy shoulders.” He laughed.

“Klaus, Danny, enough.” Luther said, clearly embarrassed. Klaus and I had a momentary, silent conversation.

“Wait.” I started.

“Was this, like—Is this your— _first?_ ” Klaus mouthed the last part, and then audibly gasped. “No way!” He breathily exclaimed. I covered my mouth to stop from laughing.

“We are not having this discussion.” Luther hissed. Klaus rung his bell and we did a little dance of excitement. Klaus suddenly stopped and turned back to Luther.

“Now you’re gonna have to marry her!” He gasped.

“Would you keep your voices down?” Luther growled quietly.

“Now, now. I remember my first—oh, no. I don’t.” Klaus silently mused on that revelation for a second.

“Klaus, what is it?” Luther tried to get Klaus back on track. Coolly

“What? Oh, the—uh important family business. Meet me downstairs, okay?” Klaus said. “Oh, and Luther, no dilly-dallying, all right? Chop, chop.” Klaus shook the bell at him.

“And make sure you invite that nice young lady to breakfast, okay?” I added, walking with Klaus down to the kitchen. He happily hummed to himself as he strained the coffee, and set out five cups. One for each of us, and then one for Ben. I sat, perched at the head of the table. Klaus first poured one for himself, then Ben, then me.

“How come I don’t get coffee first? I’m not sure Ben needs this like I do.” I complained.

“I don’t hear Ben complaining about—Damn it Ben! What did I just say I didn’t hear?!” Klaus yelled to the empty chair to my left. Luther shamefully skulked into the kitchen and sat down.

“Here we go. This’ll fix ya.” Klaus poured Luther a cup. I picked mine up and sniffed it, wrinkling my nose and setting it back down. Luther brought the cup to his lips, but Five snatched it away before he could drink. He took a sip.

“Jesus. Who do I gotta kill to get a decent cup of coffee?” Five asked, angry a little early in the day. I pointed at Klaus.

“Can we get started please?” Luther groaned.

“Okay, anyone seen any of the others? Diego? Allison? No?” Klaus asked. I raised my hand.

“Allison left last night, and uh-, well, Diego’s—“ I stopped, not sure of how to phrase it. “Diego is incapacitated at the moment, and is not going to be able to help us for a little bit.”

“Elaborate.” Five told me.

“He got arrested last night.” I dutifully elaborated.

“What happened?” Klaus worried.

“Uh, you know how his partner got killed by Hazel and Cha-Cha? Well, our thorough and great police force arrested him for her murder, after a full six minute investigation.” I said sarcastically. “He’s gonna be in station holding for another eighteen-ish hours before he gets sent to jail, so we’ll have to deal without him for a little bit.”

“All right then, this is the closest thing to a quorum...” Klaus banged the table with the spatula. “That we’re gonna get. There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just gonna spit it out.” Ben must have said something because Klaus stopped to listen.

“Yeah.” He admitted. He stopped talking.

“Klaus?” Luther said, pulling him to the living world.

“I conjured Dad last night.” He said.

“What? I thought you just saw God.” I pointed out. 

“No matter what our father said, and his massive ego, he was not God.” Five said.

“You said you haven’t been able to conjure anyone in years.” Luther said.

“Ah, yes, I know, but I’m sober. Ta-da!” He waved the spatula in the air. “I got clean, yesterday, to talk to someone special, and then ended up having this—conversation with dear old Daddy himself.” He sighed. He wanted to talk to Dave. It was quiet for a moment.

“Anyone got some aspirin?” Luther asked.

“Top shelf, next to the crackers.” Five said.

“Hey, hey, hey. This is serious guys, all right? This really happened, I swear.” Klaus said. Luther sat back down.

“Okay, fine. I’ll play. What did the old man have to say?” Five leaned forward in faux anticipation.

“Well, he gave me the usual lecture about my appearance and my failures in life. Yada, yada, yada. No surprise there. Even the afterlife couldn’t soften a hardass like Dad, right?” Klaus laughed. “But he did mention something about his murder, or lack thereof, because…” He paused dramatically. “He killed himself.” We stared at him.

“I don’t have time for your games Klaus.” Luther sighed, getting up.

“I-I’m telling you the truth Luther. I’m telling you the truth.” Klaus insisted.

“Why’d he do it then?” Five asked.

“He said it was the only way to get us all home again.” Klaus scoffed at the idea.

“No. Dad wouldn’t just kill himself.” Luther denied.

“Ah, you said it yourself. He was depressed. Holed up in his office all day and night.” I pointed out.

“No. There weren’t any signs.” Luther insisted. “Suicidal people exhibit certain tendencies, strange behaviors.”

“Like sending someone to the Moon for no reason?” Klaus asked.

“I swear to God, Klaus, if you’re lying…” Luther trailed off angrily.

“I’m not. I’m not.” Klaus promised.

“Master Klaus is correct.” Pogo announced, entering the room. We all turned in our chairs to look at him. “Regretfully, I helped Master Hargreeves enact his plan.”

“What?” Luther breathed.

“So did Grace. It was a difficult choice for both of us.” Pogo admitted. “More difficult that you could ever know. Prior to your father’s death, Grace’s programming was adjusted so that she was incapable of administering first aid, on that fateful night.”

“Sick bastard.” Five shook his head in disgust.

“So the security tape we saw?” Luther asked.

“It was meant to further the murder mystery.” Pogo answered. “Your father hoped that by being back here, solving it together, would reignite your desire to be a team again.”

“And to what end?” Five asked.

“To save the world, of course.” Pogo responded.

“All right.” Klaus laughed.

“First the moon mission and now this.” Luther sighed. “You watched me search for answers and said nothing.” Pogo didn’t have a response to that. “Anything else you want to share Pogo? Any other damn secrets?”

“Calm down Luther.” Klaus said.

“No, I won’t calm down.” Luther snapped. “We’ve been lied to by the one person in this family we all trusted.” Pogo was quiet for a moment before speaking.

“It was your father’s dying wish, Master Luther. I—“ He trailed off. “I had no choice.” Luther, Five, and I watched as Luther slowly approached Pogo.

“There’s always choice.” He growled, walking past Pogo. Pogo stood for a second before leaving as well.

“I gotta think.” Five disappeared in a blink of blue light. Klaus and I sat in silence.

“I’m gonna go think too.” Klaus pushed himself away from the table and meandered upstairs. I went upstairs as well, pulling back my dresser and opening the eighth volume. I carefully held the small egg in my hand, looking at the iridescent pattern. How did dad know the world was gonna end?

“Danny.” Five blinked into my room.

“What the hell?!” I yelled in shock.

“I was just thinking—“ I cut him off.

“How did dad know the world was gonna end?” I asked. Five snapped and pointed at me.

“Exactly. Come on.” Five instructed. I put the egg and book back and followed him to Klaus’s room.

“So how’d the crazy bastard know to kill himself a week before the end of the world?” Five asked, already in mid stride of a plan.

“Well, you know—“ Klaus started.

“Don’t answer. That was purely rhetorical.” Five shushed him. “Truth is, our whole lives, he’s been telling us that we’d save the world from an ending apocalypse.”

“Yeah, but I always though he just said that to scare us into doing the dishes.” Klaus answered.

“Me too.” Five agreed.

“Yeah, it worked.” I added.

“But what if the old man really knew it was going to happen?”

“Yeah, but knew how?” Klaus asked, sniff-checking a shirt and throwing it on.

“No idea. But the fact remains, his fakakta plan worked. We all came home. We’re here, we might as well save the world.”

“Oh yeah? What, like the three of us?” I scoffed, suddenly less on board.

“Uh, ideally no, but…” Five trailed off as we followed him out of Klaus’s room. “Gotta work with what I’ve got.” Running footsteps jumped up the stairs. Diego pulled off his coat as he ran into his room.

“Where have you been?” Five asked.

“Jail.” Diego answered, snapping his stabby vest on. “Long story. Where’s Luther?”

“Haven’t seen him since breakfast.” I answered.

“Yeah, two days until the world ends, he picks a great time to drop off the grid.” Klaus said.

“Shit.” Diego breathed. “Allison is in danger.” He told us.

“What? How do you know?” I asked. We followed Diego downstairs.

“She’s going after Harold Jenkins, who is actually Leonard Peabody, and is apparently with Vanya right now in Jackpine.” Diego explained as we piled in his car. “He’s the man that’s going to start the apocalypse.”

“Stop! There’s Luther’s car. In the alleyway!” I said. We walked into the shady bar. Luther sat at a table, hunched over a mug.

“Look.” I pointed at him.

“Trying a little hair of the dog, are we? Hm?” Klaus teased.

“Leave me alone.” He grumbled. Diego sat next to him.

“Give us a minute.” He said.

“Okay, come on. Maybe they’ll brood each other to death.” Klaus said, leading Five and me away. We hovered at the table by the doorway as they broodily murmured to each other. 

“You should have led with that!” Luther yelled after a moment, roughly pushing his chair back and grabbing his coat. “Jesus Christ.” We ran after him as he broke the door by the hinges and ran to the car. Five drove out of town, Luther, Diego, and I crammed in the backseat while Klaus had tons of room in the front seat. We were driving through the idle countryside, like we had all the time in the world.

“Hey, can you go any faster?” Luther leaned forward so he was in between the front two seats, further squishing Diego and me.

“Ask me again, and I’ll burn you with the cigarette lighter.” Five told him, eyes still on the road. 

“And if you don’t stop moving, I will strangle you with your own bootlaces.” I growled at Luther. After what felt like forever, Five pulled into a back driveway, facing a wood cabin. We clambered out and a metal smell filled my senses.

“Allison!” I yelled, stumbling as I ran up the stairs.

“Danny, wait! It’s not safe!” Luther ran after me. I burst through the door, nearly throwing up at the sight and smell. Allison laid in a pool of her own blood, her eyes glazed and unmoving.

“Allison!” I screamed, getting down on my knees.

“Allison! NO!” Luther yelled when he came through the door. He pushed me aside and held Allison’s head. Her eyes fluttered, but remained still.


	10. Episode IX

“Come on! Come on! Get her to the house!” I said, opening the door before the car had even stopped.

“Come on! Let’s go!” Five bounded ahead and opened the door.

“I don’t think she’s breathing.” Luther said, holding her by the arms.

“If we don’t get her upstairs, she’s gonna die.” Klaus said helpfully. We rushed her as carefully as possible upstairs. Grace and Pogo were already waiting for us. She was laid on the table. Five and I were still holding pressure on her throat, our hands soaked with her blood.

“She suffered a severe laceration to her larynx. One of you is going to have to give blood.” Grace told us.

“I will.” We all said in unison.

“I’m doing it.” Luther insisted, starting to roll up his sleeve.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible, dear boy. Your blood is more compatible with mine.” Pogo told him.

“Hey, don’t sweat it. I—I got this, big guy.” Klaus said. “I love needles.” He slapped the crook of his elbow to get the blood flowing as he pushed in front of Luther.

“Master Klaus.” Pogo called. “Your blood is… how shall I say this?” He mused. “Too polluted.” Diego pushed Klaus out of the way.

“Move.” He said. Grace unwrapped the needle. Diego saw it, his eyes rolled up, and he hit the floor. We stared at his unconscious body.

“Stick him.” Pogo instructed. I left to go change into non-blood soaked clothes, and when I came back, Diego was propped up on the bookcase as Grace untied the tourniquet from his arm of his arm. He scrunched up his eyes as she pulled the needle out and threw it away.

“Wow. I’m actually impressed.” I said, leaning on the doorway.

“What?” Diego asked, cautiously opening an eye at me.

“You, the big, bad, number 2. You throw knives for a job. But needles are too much. Too much for Number 2: the badass.” I laughed as I helped him to his feet. He swayed unsteadily.

“Shut the hell up.” He gave a breathy laugh. “Come on. We’ve gotta go.” He became serious again. I helped him down the stairs, and by the time we got to the living room, he was almost back to normal. Five was already there, lounging on the barstool, and Klaus was on the couch. I sat next to him.

“Okay, so the bastard that nearly killed our sister is still out there, with Vanya.” Diego said, pacing. “We need to go after him.”

“Vanya is not important.” Five said.

“Watch your mouth.” I pointed at him.

“Hey. That’s your sister. A little heartless even for you Five.” Diego added. Klaus stared off into space, biting a nail, a million miles away.

“I’m not saying I don’t care about her, but if the apocalypse happens today, she dies along with the other seven billion of us. Harold Jenkins is our first priority.” Five and Diego locked eyes for a moment, and I wasn’t sure if they were going to fight or not.

“I agree. Let’s go.”

“You guys count me out.” Klaus said. I sat back down and Diego and Five stopped in their tracks. “I mean, you know, no offense or whatever, it’s just… I kind of feel like this is a whole lot of pressure for newly-sober me, so…” He trailed off.

“You’re coming.” Diego insisted.

“No, I mean, I think we can all agree that my powers, I mean, it’s pretty much useless. I’d just be holding you guys back.”

“Klaus, get up.” Five said. I reached my arm around him, looking just like a caring sister. But my hand reached the back of my neck, and I squeezed with just enough pressure to let him know I wasn’t joking.

“Get. Up.” I growled.

“You can’t make me.” Klaus turned his head. Diego and I made eye contact and I nodded slightly at him. With the slightest movement of his arm, he threw a knife right in between Klaus’s legs. Klaus threw his hands up in surprise and I let go.

“Oh. Then again, a little exercise couldn’t hurt. Yeah.” He got up around the knife. I unstuck it from the couch and tossed it back to Diego as we followed him out. Diego drove to a completely ordinary house a few miles away. I could smell the blood before the front door was even open.

“Someone’s dead. We shouldn’t be here.” I said, nauseous. Five’s hand hovered above the door knob, but didn’t open it.

“What the hell do you mean, someone’s dead? You can’t just say that someone’s dead.” Five argued. I pushed past him and rushed inside. A man, absolutely ordinary in every way except one was lying still on a broken dinner table. I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Oh thank god.” I gave a small laugh. “It’s just this guy. But see, I was right.” The others came in cautiously.

“Well, that not exactly what I was expecting.” Klaus said, leaning over the dead body.

“The understatement of the year.” Five said.

“No sign of Vanya.” I said.

“Let’s get out of here, before the cops come.” Diego said, going to leave.

“In a minute.” Five said, rustling in his pockets. He pulled out a small bag, and kneeled by Jenkins' head. He pulled out a small synthetic eyeball. He pulled the eyepatch off.

“Come on Five, what are you—“ Diego put a hand over his mouth, and I turned away, a burning taste coming up the back of my throat.

“Ugh wow.” Klaus commented. There was a slight squelching sound.

“Same eye color, same pupil size. Guys, this is it.” Five exclaimed. I turned back to look at the corpse. It was. “The eye I’ve been carrying around for decades, it—It’s found its rightful home.” We all leaned over the corpse as he pulled the eye back out and put it back in the bag.

“We got the guy we needed to kill to stop the apocalypse.” Diego said.

“Yay! Let’s go.” Klaus slapped Diego on the back and turned away, but Diego grabbed him by the back of his vest.

“No, no. Wait, wait. It can’t be this easy.” Five said. “Look, this is the note that I got from the Commission. The one that says, ‘Protect Harold Jenkins’, aka Leonard Peabody.”

“Yeah.” I said, understanding where he was going.

“But who killed him? Who did this?”

“I have a crazy idea.” Klaus spoke up. “Crazy, but why don’t we find Vanya… and ask her what happened?” Five disappeared in a blue light.

“If Vanya got away from this asshole, she might be headed back to the Academy.” Diego said. We left Harold Jenkins and drove back to the academy.

“Split up. We need to find her.” Diego said. Klaus and I took the bottom floors, and Diego and Five took the top.

“No sign of Vanya.” Five announced as we met on the balcony overlooking the parlor.

“She’s not downstairs either.” I sighed.

“Well I’m out.” Diego brushed past Klaus and me.

“Wait, wait.”

“Where are you going?” Five and Klaus asked at the same time. “Vanya’s still out there and so are Hazel and Cha-Cha.” Five continued. Diego turned.

“I know. I’m gonna get my things and then I’m outta here. I’ve got some unfinished business with those fools.” He left. I followed him to his room. He knelt by his bed and pulled out his knife box, carefully and meticulously putting them away one by one.

“What is your damn problem?” I asked. He didn’t look up as he latched the case and sat it upright. “Our sister is out there, alone and out of her freaking mind, dealing with powers she can’t control, and all you can focus on is revenge. Get your head out of your ass.” I blocked the doorway as he tried to pass it.

“Are you truly the best one to talk about control?” Diego asked. I dropped my arms in shock and let him brush past me as he went to get the rest of his stuff

“She’s our sister. And Patch doesn’t give a damn about your revenge, you know why? Because she’s dead. The only one you’re hurting is yourself. They’re going to kill you Diego.” I said after him. He set down his suitcase and took a breath. “They’ve almost killed Five, and he was a trained assassin.” He didn’t move.

“Our sister is out there, and you may not know this, Mr. ‘I’ve had control over my powers since I was six’, but it’s terrifying to not be in control. But go, you know what, go. Go get killed in the name of revenge, so that you can fix your ego. I know Patch was important to—“ He turned around.

“Don’t talk about her like you knew her.” He growled. “You didn’t. You don’t know what she would have wanted.”

“You’re right. I didn’t know her. But if you were important to her, which I know you were, she wouldn’t want you dead. Do what you want, cause I don’t care anymore.” I stormed downstairs. Five was in the living room, drinking a margarita with Delores propped next to him, with her own.

“Delores. Five.” I nodded to each of them. I went around the bar and poured my own from the pitcher, sticking a silly straw in it.

“Your brother is an asshole.” I pointed the straw at Five.

“Which one?” He laughed. “Right now, you’ve got three to choose from.” There was a knock on the door. Five and I looked at each other. “Eh, I’ll get it.” He hopped off the stool and opened the door.

“Hey old-timer.” A voice called. The one with the blue mask from before. My heart was pounding and the hair on the back of my neck rose.

“Stay here Delores.” I said, ducking behind the bar just in case.

“Do you have my sister? And if not, would you like a margarita?” Five asked, completely unfazed. I stood up again as Five entered the living room. A large man appeared, holding a gun.

“Are you here to kill me?” Five asked, perching on the barstool.

“Oh, shit. Sorry. Old habits.” Hazel breathily laughed as he tucked the gun in his pants. “Well, I can understand why you might feel that way, you know…” He trailed off.

“Well, you attacked our house, tried to kill our family, and kidnapped my brother.” Five answered, taking a drink.

“Well, there’s not much I can do about the past. Don’t forget I’m not the only killer in this room. You got your own bloody history pal.” Five looked down and took a long drink. “Speaking of which, that job you did in Calhoun, that shit was legendary. Can’t believe I’m actually sittin’ here talkin’ to you after all—“

“Hazel, why are you here?” Five interrupted.

“Well, I’m you know—“ Hazel didn’t finish that thought because Diego ran up behind him and kicked him in the back. Hazel fell to the floor.

“Diego, stop!” Five called. Diego flipped over Hazel, who was still lying down and kicked him in the face as he tried to stand.

“You know, before you kill him, you might wanna hear what he has to say.” Five called out, but Diego wasn’t listening. The two were relatively evenly matched, and continued to fight.

“Or don’t. See how that goes.” I went around and sat on the stool next to Five.

“Ten says that Hazel wins this.” I whispered to him as they continued to fight. Five shrugged at my offer. We hissed in unison as Diego stabbed Hazel in the upper thigh.

“That’s gotta hurt.” Five mumbled. Hazel picked Diego up and squeezed him. So Diego did the sensible thing and bit his ear. They both yelled. Five hummed to himself and set his drink down, disappearing. He reappeared behind Diego and smashed him with a vase. Diego fell to the ground.

“I draw the line at biting.” Five said, hopping off the table and walking back to the bar.

“I don’t. This still counts as a win.” I nodded towards Five. He shrugged, non-committedly. I waved at Hazel.

“Sorry for biting you four days ago.” I waved. He hesitantly waved back.

“Hazel, whatever you came to say, I suggest you make it quick, before he comes round.” “

“I left my partner, quit the commission and came to volunteer.” He announced.

“For what?” I asked.

“To help stop the apocalypse.” He said. Five laughed into his drink. “What on earth could be so funny to you right now?”

“Before I answer that, why do you wanna help us?” Five asked.

“Let’s just say I have a vested interest in a doughnut shop.” He said cryptically.

“Well I hate to break it to you pal, but you’re a day late and a dollar short.” Five smiled smugly at him. “The fact that you’re here right now means, that without a shadow of a doubt, that the apocalypse is over.”

“Really? How do you know?” Hazel asked.

“The mark is dead. Found him this morning. You were the last known unknown left in the equation.” Hazel laughed.

“Shit. Really?” Five nodded.

“Mm-hmm. And if you’re out, then Hellrider ain’t riding.” Five put his drink down.

“Oh!” Hazel exclaimed. “All right!” He laughed. He came over and joined us at the bar, drinking the remainder of the margaritas straight from the blender. He set it back.

“So now what?” He asked.

“You know, to be honest, I don’t know.” Five admitted. “I’ve been chasing this thing for so long, I… I never really thought about the day after. I don’t know. What about you?”

“I’m done with all this madness.” Hazel said. “Time to start over. You should do the same.”

“Easier said than done.” Five sipped at his drink.

“It doesn’t have to be hard.” Hazel said. “I mean, think about it like this. If you had never time traveled, you never got caught up with the Handler, what would have happened?” Five glanced over his shoulder at Diego, who was still unconscious amid a sea of glass.

“I guess I would have grown up to be an emotionally stunted man-child, like everybody else around here.” I pointed my silly straw at him in warning.

“Well there you go. Now you can grow up.” Hazel got up from the bar. “Good luck.” Five and I made eye contact. I gestured at Diego and made a gun motion with my hand, nodding at Hazel.

“Hazel.” Five said. Hazel stopped. “One more thing before you go.”

“Shoot.” Hazel said.

“Which one of you was the trigger man for Detective Patch?”

“Trigger woman.” Hazel corrected. Five sighed.

“Huh. That’s too bad. That gun could have cleared my brother’s name.” Five said. Hazel reached into his waistband and pulled out two guns.

“Well, today’s your lucky day amigo.” He set them down on the bar. “I’m done with this life.” He walked out and closed the door behind him. Five and I stared at the guns, then continued to drink. After a few minutes, Diego grunted, blearily opening his eyes.

“Good you’re up.” I waved my glass at him. Diego jumped up, ready to fight again.

“Where is he?” He asked.

“We let him go.” Five answered.

“You what?” Diego came towards us.

“Now that the apocalypse is over, it’s time for the fighting to stop.” Diego picked up the knife that had fallen during the fight.

“Hey! He didn’t kill Patch. His partner Cha-Cha did.” I said.

“So what? They were both there that night.”

“This half of the partnership gave me both of their guns. Which will clear you because both of the ballistics will match Patch’s crime scene.” Five explained. Diego stopped, walking to the bar and staring at the guns.

“Hazel came looking for a way out.” Five said. “He wanted a fresh start. And he happened to have in his possession the one thing that could do our family a little good. So it’s time to move on.”

“Not a chance.” Diego whispered.

“Suit yourself.” Five said, turning back around to the bar. “Although I am curious. Your girlfriend Patch, what did you like about her?” He took Delores off the bar and carried her to the table.

“A lot of things.” Diego admitted. “Cute butt, nice legs.”

“Nice.” I said sipping on Delores’s untouched margarita.

“Okay, anything a little more profound than that?” Five asked. Diego thought for a moment.

“She believed in people. No matter how much shit and filth she saw on the streets. She always saw the good inside.” Diego elaborated.

“Well, I’m sure she’d be proud to know you’re killing Hazel and Cha-Cha as a way to honor her memory.” I said, finishing her drink and walking upstairs. Five followed me, and we went our ways. I went to my room and sat heavily on my bed. I heard the door open, and then Luther was talking to someone. Suddenly the house started to shake, plaster falling from the ceiling. I came out of my room and went downstairs.

“Luther? Diego? Klaus?” I called. There was talking downstairs, and I followed the voices until I came to a closed door that I had never paid much attention to before. I pried the doors open, and an elevator door met me. I pressed the button and took it down. IT opened to a long cement corridor. At the end, another door was open. Luther, Diego, and Klaus’s backs were facing me, and I ran to them.

“What the hell is happening?” I asked. Then I saw what they were looking at. My stomach dropped. Vanya was encased in a locked, vacuum sealed room. She was pounding on the door, yelling to be let out, but her voice didn’t carry through.

“Our sister.” Klaus was saying. “The one who always cried when we stepped on ants as kids.” He gestured to Vanya.

“I know. I know it’s difficult to accept—“

“It’s not difficult to accept. It’s impossible to accept!” Klaus yelled turning back to Luther.

“No, he’s right. Look, we can’t keep her locked up without proof.”

“What proof do you need?” Luther asked.

“Why don’t we open up the door and ask her?” Klaus asked, reaching for the door. Luther grabbed his arm.

“No, she’s not goin’ anywhere.” Luther said.

“What the hell have you done?” I asked angrily, finally unfreezing. They turned to me.

“Danny, listen. Vanya has powers, and she almost killed Allison. She’s dangerous and—“Luther tried to explain.

“Bullshit!” I yelled, pushing past Luther and tugging on the handle. Luther grabbed my arm and tried to pull me away.

“She needs our help, and you want to lock her in a cage?” I struggled out of his grasp. He grabbed me again, tighter this time and ripped me away from the door.

“Yeah, she might be struggling with this new power. I mean, it must be scary, terrifying to realize that you can do something that you never though you could do.” Klaus argued.

“Look, if what Pogo told me is even half true, then she is not just a danger to us.” Luther said. I struggled against Luther, trying to reach her.

“I don’t care! She’s our sister and she needs help!” I bit Luther’s arm, and he let go in surprise. I pulled the handle, and it slowly started to turn. Luther grabbed me by the waist and pulled me away. I screamed as I kicked and thrashed, trying to get to Vanya, who was still pleading and pounding on the glass. Footsteps came from down the hallway and stopped.

“Allison?” Luther turned, still holding me. I threw my head back to try and hit his chin, but I only hit his chest. “What are you doing down here? You should be in bed?” Allison pulled out a pen and wrote on a yellow memo pad.

_“Let her out”._ It said in big capital letters.

“I can’t do that. She hurt you.” Luther said. Allison went to write again.

_“My Fault.”_ It read.

“I’m sorry but she’s staying put.” Luther said. Allison came towards him. He dropped me and shoved me away as Allison tried to get past. He wouldn’t let her, and she hit him in the chest as hard as she could, starting to cry.

“Come on. You need to rest.” Luther said. Allison allowed herself to be led away. I ran back to Vanya, but Diego held me tight.

“She’s saying she’s sorry! Let her out! Please!?” I pounded on his chest.

“Come on Danny. Before we can help her, we need to figure out how.” Diego said calmly.

“So you’re on his side now?” I yelled, pointing to Luther, who was already halfway down the corridor. “How can you do this to our sister Diego? How can you let him do this?”

“Come on.” Luther sighed, like we were just ruining his day.

“We can’t help her until we let her out! She’s scared!” I cried, hot tears running down my face. Diego held me tight, in an oppressive hug.

“Let me go.” I whimpered. “Please Diego. Let me go.” He started to release me, and I punched him in the gut. I pushed past him and started to open the door. Luther roughly picked me up by the middle and squeezed.

“Luther! Stop!” I cried. Diego got up, breathing heavily.

“Tighten it.” Luther ordered, and Diego for once, did as Luther said. I screamed as loud as I could as Luther took me out of the room and back into the elevator. I shifted into a snake as the doors closed, and fell out of Luther’s arms.

“Shit. Grab her!” Luther yelled. He scrambled, and stepped on my tail. He leaned over and pulled me up by the neck. As the elevator doors opened to our basement, I bit him as hard as I could. Too bad I couldn’t be venomous. He suppressed a yell as he climbed the stairs, and threw me aside as soon as he pushed open the door to the foyer. I skidded across the floor, breathing heavily. Luther grabbed one of the heavy curio cabinets from the living room and blocked the basement door. I shifted back and tried to move the curio cabinet, but couldn’t. I screamed, punching the glass, but my fist bounced off. Plexi-glass.

“You piece of shit!” I cried at Luther as he slowly led Allison up the stairs. I turned to Diego.

“And you! You could have stopped him.” I jabbed a finger in his chest.

“You know I couldn’t have. How was I supposed to stop him?” Diego asked. “If I could I would. Come on.” He said. The worst was that I knew he was right.

“She’s our sister, Diego.” I sobbed. Diego wrapped me in a hug.

“People don’t belong in cages Diego. They don’t.” I sniffed.

“What do you mean?” He held me at arms-length. “Dannielle. What do you mean?” I wiped my nose on my sleeve.

“Re-me-me-member when we were little, and we were-we were in the government building with the hostage-hostages?” I asked. “2004?”

“Vaguely.” Diego said hesitantly.

“And I-I-I killed the guys holding up the embassy.” I recalled.

“Yeah. I remember.” Diego said.

“But-but I couldn’t stop. And I killed that d-di-diplomat. And that translator. And some innocent guy who was just there.”

“Danny, I said I remember.”

“Dad found out about the innocent people. And then after, he had me shift back into a boar like then, and I nearly speared Pogo. And he said that if I couldn’t shift back, which I couldn’t, and—and –and he—“ I couldn’t finish the sentence. Diego held me tight as I cried. 

“Jesus. Dad said you got hurt and that’s why we didn’t see you for a while.” Diego said.

“Yeah, I was I was locked in the greenhouse and that’s why you weren’t allowed there.” I admitted.

“Okay, hey, hey. Come on. Let’s go get some food. Come on.” Diego led me to the kitchen.

“Hey mom.” Diego called into the kitchen.

“Kids.” She pulled off her gloves and set aside the cleaner. “What’s wrong?” I sat down heavily at the table.

“Can we get some food?” Diego asked, like we were kids again.

“Of course dear. Danny, Danny, look at me.” Grace knelt down so that we were eye to eye. “What do we do when we’re upset and can’t calm down?” She asked.

“We count to ten using our fingers and think of a good memory.” I answered.

“That’s right.” She smiled at me as she stood. I did as she said, smiling slightly to myself.

“What are you thinking about?” Diego asked.

“Remember when Dad was out of town for a week, and then Pogo had to go with him, so it was just us and Grace?” I asked. Diego nodded.

“Yeah. It was a great week.” Diego agreed.

“And we decided to play a game of hide-n’-seek over the whole house and grounds, and Luther was it. I shifted into a bird and flew into a tree, because he didn’t say no powers, and after eight hours, everyone else had already been found. When it was just Klaus in the yard helping to look, I let him know where I was. Then, Klaus went to Luther and said that because he hadn’t found me yet, Klaus could talk to me, because I died waiting for him. Remember how hard Luther cried, and then you got Grace to get him to stop, and then she had to get a bird net to get me outta the tree.” Diego laughed.

“Yeah. Luther didn’t stop crying until Grace caught you.” He said. “Although Klaus really sold it. He said that you and Ben were friends in the afterlife, but you kept asking why Luther left you alone. It was a cinematic masterpiece.” We laughed.

“Okay, kids. Here you are.” Grace sat a plate of pancakes in front of each of us. They had smiley faces made out of berries. I looked down at the three faces. Before I could eat; however, an ear-shattering metallic shriek rang through the house.


	11. Episode X

“What the hell?” Diego wondered aloud. The house shook. 

“It’s coming from downstairs.” I said. “We need to get everyone out of here.” We both bolted to the bedroom wing as the house trembled. Diego and I around the corner the stairs as Luther and Allison came from her room.

“Are those explosions coming from—“ Klaus started, bursting from his own.

“Vanya.” Luther finished.

“We need to get to safety, outside the Academy.” Pogo added, suddenly appearing as well. Explosions echoed throughout the house and I heard glasses shattering.

“Don’t forget Mom!” Luther shouted as Diego, Klaus, and I ran. We went upstairs, searching for Grace.

“Mom!” Diego called as Klaus did the same.

“Grace!” I yelled. A large patch of ceiling crumbled and we were showered with large chunks of plaster. I was knocked to the ground, Klaus landing on top of me, and Diego landing a few feet away. “Klaus!” I yelled, wiggling out from under him. He groaned and sat up.

“Diego. Diego come on.” I shook him. He didn’t move. We looked up and saw the ceiling crack further. I shook Diego as hard as I could, but he didn’t move. Diego and I were roughly pulled out of the way from the falling ceiling.

“Holy shit!” Klaus gave a breathy laugh. I helped Diego stand, and we ran out of the house, which had suddenly stopped trembling. But as we crossed the threshold to the back alley, the shaking started worse than before.

“Are you okay? Are you okay?” I brushed the blood off of Klaus’s forehead. He nodded, holding my arms.

“Holy shit man. You just saved our lives.” Diego said, wrapping Klaus and me in a tight hug. Klaus mouthed something to someone we couldn’t see, giving an ‘I’m sorry’ hand wave.

“Mom!” I gasped. They let go of each other.

“Mom! Mom!” We called, looking up at the window, where she stared down at us from. “Get out of there now!” We screamed, waving for her to come down. She put her hand to her mouth and blew us a kiss.

“I’m coming after you!” Diego shouted.

“No! Diego!” Klaus shouted. The building crumbled, the final foundation of our childhood home falling around us. We covered ourselves as large pieces of marble and plaster fell around us. The shaking stopped. We cautiously looked up, and saw the midden. Diego ran through the bricks and debris.

“Mom! Mom!” He cried, rummaging through the rubble. “Danny, Klaus, come here. Help me search.”

“Diego,” Klaus said, carefully picking his way through. “Just stop it. Stop.” He grabbed Diego’s shoulder and spun him around.

“No, what-what are you—“ Diego sputtered. ”Let me go. What are you doing?”

“Stop. Stop.” Klaus held his arms. “She’s gone. She’s… she’s gone.”

“What do you wanna do? You wanna-you wanna-you-you wanna walk away from this?” Diego stuttered angrily.

“No.” Klaus said softly, almost reassuringly.

“What about Pogo?” He asked. Luther and Allison came towards us, picking their way through the wreckage.

“He didn’t make it.” Luther announced.

“What?” I croaked, my chest tightening.

“Vanya killed him.” Luther said.

“No. Vanya wouldn’t—“ I started, more to reassure myself than anything.

“No. I saw it.” He confirmed. “Just before we got out.” Allison came over and stood by him.

“Mom. Now Pogo.” Diego muttered to himself, sinking to the ground in shock.

“Guys! Guys!” Five came running towards us. “This is it. The apocalypse is still on. The world ends today.”

“Wait, wait, wait. I thought you just said it was over.” I said.

“I was wrong, okay?” He admitted. “This newspaper, I found it in the future the day I got stuck.” He held it up. “The headline hasn’t changed.”

“No. That doesn’t mean anything.” Diego responded. “The time could’ve been altered since that newspaper came out this morning.”

“You’re not listening to me.” Five growled. “When I found it, I assumed this place came down along with everything else. But here we are. The Moon’s still shining, the Earth is in one piece. But not the academy.” Klaus snatched the paper from Five.

“I’m confused.” He said, starting to read it.

“Then listen to me, you idiot! Vanya destroys the Academy before the apocalypse. I thought Harold Jenkins was the cause, but he was the fuse. Vanya’s the bomb. Vanya causes the apocalypse.” He explained. A helicopter whirred overhead, and sirens wailed in the distance.

“We have to find her.” Luther concluded. The helicopter’s floodlight swept on us.

“We gotta go, now!” Diego got up. “Regroup at the super star. Go!” Allison and Luther ran in one direction, and Klaus in another. Five disappeared. I shifted into a bird and flew as fast as I could away from the burning wreckage. I shifted in the parking lot and dropped to my feet. I pushed open the doors and the sound of laughing kids and falling pins echoed in my ears. I found Five sitting in a cluster of tacky chairs.

“Hey, kid. You gotta wear the shoes if you’re gonna be in the lanes.” The desk clerk handed me a too-large pair of mismatched bowling shoes. I looked back to Five, and took the shoes.

“Why the hell are we meeting here?” I grumbled, slipping off my shoes and putting on the clown ones.”

“Because our brother is an idiot.” Five said. I did not disagree with that. The doors pushed open, and Diego came in. I waved him over.

“Why are we meeting here?” I asked him as he sat down with his own clown shoes by his feet.

“Because it’s nearby and loud. We can talk here and no one’ll notice. Gotta think like a cop, Danny.” Diego explained.

“I see you thinking like a criminal.” I grumbled under my breath. Klaus came running breathlessly through the door. The establishment quieted a bit as he came in. “Because we are so conspicuous.” I said to Diego as Allison and Luther showed up last. We all got our shoes and sat in a semi-circle.

“Look,” Luther said as we all gathered around. “I hate to be the one to say this, but everyone needs to prepare.”

“For what?” Diego snapped.

“To do whatever it takes to stop Vanya.” Luther answered. Allison smacked him in the chest with the memo pad.

“I—“ Luther sighed. “We may not have a choice Allison.”

“Bullshit.” Diego called.

“There’s always an option.” I added.

“Yeah, like what?” Five asked. Klaus opened the paper. I hopped off the bar and leaned in close to Five.

“Like if you don’t shut your mouth, I’ll do it for you.” I growled, holding up a fist.

“Hey, that’s enough.” Diego shoved between us.

“Look, whatever we decide, we need to find Vanya. And fast, okay? She could be anywhere.” Luther stood up to take charge.

“Or… here.” Klaus said, looking up from the paper and gently shaking it. We all gathered around and saw the ad for Vanya’s concert.

“That’s right. Her concert is tonight.” I said, remembering seeing it before.

“Hello.” A young woman in a super star polo came up to us. “I hate to intrude, but my manager says if you’re not gonna bowl, you gotta leave.” She said, smiling nervously. She walked away and the manager at the counter angrily slammed a pair of bowling shoes on the counter.

“Who’s turn is it?” Diego asked.

“Oh, for…” Luther picked up a bowling ball and sent it flying. It knocked down the pins seven lanes away.

“Hey, you got a strike.” I pointed out. Allison hurriedly wrote on the note pad.

“ _She’s our sister_ ”. She tapped it with the pen.

“We’re the only ones capable of stopping this.” Luther told her. “We have a responsibility to Dad.”

“To Dad?” Diego angrily spun around to face Luther. “No. I’ve heard enough about—“

“He sacrificed everything to bring us back together.” He said.

“I’m with Luther on this one.” Five said. “We can’t give her a chance to fight back. There are billions of lives at stake. We’re past just trying to save one.” I looked over and Klaus seemed to be having a conversation with someone, and decided on something.

“Hey, guys. Maybe uh, maybe I could help.” He said.

“Now is not the time.” Luther shut him down.

“No. Let him finish.” I stood up to defend Klaus. Luther looked at me with mild confusion.

“He saved our lives today.” Diego said, patting Klaus on the shoulder. Klaus stood as well.

“Is that true?” Luther asked. Klaus listened to someone, and then nodded.

“Yeah, yeah. I did…” He trailed off. “Take credit for it. In fact, the real hero, was Ben.” We looked at him.

“Are you freaking high right now?” I asked angrily. Klaus sighed.

“No. Today… listen. Today he punched me in the face. And earlier at the house, he was the one who saved their lives, not me.” He walked around the semi-circle as he talked.

“You are unbelievable, Klaus.” Luther shook his head, and I actually agreed with him.

“You want proof, is that it?” Klaus asked. He picked up a bowling ball. “I’ll give you proof. All right, it’s showtime, baby.” He spun the ball in his hands and then threw it behind Five. It bounced off the ground and rolled away. Klaus put his hands on his head in genuine confusion and disappointment.

“Is there any way to silence that voice in your head that screams out to be the center of attention?” Luther asked angrily.

“You know, I liked you a lot better before you got laid.” Klaus turned to Luther. Luther’s eyes widened and Allison’s did too. I went over and smacked Klaus on the arm, giving him a ‘what the hell’ look. “Which, was a complete…” He trailed off, trying to explain. “IT—It wasn’t his fault, ‘cause he was ridiculously high, right? And—And the girl, she thought he was a furry…”

“Stop.” Luther said, his face a violent pink. Allison shook her head in disgust and stormed off.

“Allison.” Luther sighed, following her outside. A large pink woman and a kid came up to us.

“Excuse me, it’s my son Kenny’s birthday today, and uh, wouldn’t your kids be happier playing with kids their own age?” She asked. “Assuming it’s okay with your two dads.” I looked at Klaus and Diego, who were looking at each other.

“I would rather chew off my own foot.” He snarled at the woman. Kenny and his mom left in a hurry. A synthetic whooshing sound came from afar, and Five went to look at it.

“Dad, can we go play with Kenny?” I gave Diego a shit-eating grin. “Please Dad?” I turned to Klaus.

“If I was going to date a man, you’d be the last man I would date.” Diego said.

“You’d be lucky to get me.” Klaus responded.

“Please.” Diego scoffed. “I could do so, so much better than you. I’d get the hottest—“ Diego stopped. “I’m not doing this with you.” In the corner of my vision, I saw Five’s blue light and he disappeared. I walked to where Five had been standing and picked up the tube lying in the ball retrieval slot. I brought it back and showed it to Diego. Allison came back then, tear stains on her cheeks.

“What the hell is this?” He asked, turning it over in his hands. Luther came back, glancing at Allison before turning his attention to us.

“All right, where’s Five?” He asked.

“He left.” I answered.

“Oh, for the love of… where’d he go?” Luther asked.

“Didn’t tell us.” Diego said.

“Well, we’re not waiting around for him. The concert starts in thirty minutes.” Luther said.

“All right, so what’s the plan?” Diego asked.

“Well, I think that, uh…” Luther stopped, not usually asked for his ideas. “We go to the Icarus Theater.”

“That’s a location, not a plan.” Diego shot down. Luther opened his mouth, but no words came out. Diego came closer. “What? Is that all you got?” He asked. “Look, you wanna be Number One, fine, but you’re gonna have to get us on the same page, because right now, we’re all over the place.”

“You’re right.” Luther said after a moment. “We need a plan.” My attention was drawn to the doors, where a girl ran as fast as she could. Men in black armor and gas masks, holding automatic rifles came into view.

“Guys!” I yelled. They opened fire, spraying bullets everywhere.

“Get down!” Luther yelled as screams ripped through the building. We all ducked under the bowling ball racks, Luther and Diego under one, and Allison, Klaus, and I under another.

“Who the hell are these guys?” Diego yelled.

“Maybe they’re here for Kenny’s birthday party?” Klaus yelled back, his hands covering his ears. I shook my head.

“Kenny’s not cool enough.” I yelled back. Klaus nodded, conceding his original idea.

“No, I’m pretty sure they’re here for us!” Luther yelled, as their gunfire started to focus more on where we were hiding. Diego jumped up and threw a knife at one of them, hitting him square in the eye of his gasmask. The man fell back on the speaker system and the lights went out, and strobe disco lights started. My eyes immediately adjusted to the darkness as the song “Saturday” started to play.

“Man I haven’t heard this song in forever. I love this.” I gave a short laugh. Luther stood and started lobbing bowling balls at them, with enough force to bring them to the ground. Klaus stood up, but before I could pull him back down, he brought the cake with underneath the rack.

“Good idea. I actually could use some-“ Before I could finish, Klaus flung the cake and it smacked right into one of their faces.

“They’re blocking the exit!” Klaus yelled when he sat back down.

“So what’s the plan now, Luther?” Diego called. Allison smacked me and pointed to the bowling lanes.

“The lanes! Go to the lanes!” I exclaimed. We all sprinted down the bowling lanes and I threw myself headfirst through the pins and into the loading docks behind it.

“Come on, let’s go!” Diego held the door for us as we ran through, and then followed behind us. We piled in Diego’s car, and for once, I got the front seat. That wasn’t what I was supposed to be focusing on, but small victories. He tore out of the parking lot and sped towards the theater. He parked the car partly on the curb and part on the street in front, and we ran inside. Beautiful music wafted through the halls. It had already started. We ran up the stairs, but Allison ran ahead and stopped Luther, who I then bumped into.

“What?” He asked. I didn’t get to see the note, but Luther did not like it. “Allison, I can’t let you do that, all right? She’s beyond reasoning.”

“You hear the music?” Diego asked loudly. “It’s started.”

“Do you honestly think she’s gonna listen? After everything that’s happened?” Luther asked Allison. She started at him defiantly.

“We don’t have time for this.” Klaus said.

“Okay.” Luther conceded. Allison hastily walked inside the theater.

“You’re using her as a distraction, aren’t you?” Diego asked as we watched her disappear from view.

“Our best chance to incapacitate Vanya.” Luther said.

“Oh.” Diego agreed with the idea.

“She’ll thank us later.” Luther reassured. We walked towards the doors.

“So what’s the plan?” Klaus asked.

“Uh, you two wait out front.” Luther said, stopping Klaus and me.

“What?” I asked.

“Yeah, you’re the lookouts.” Luther said, and they walked inside.

“The lookout?” Klaus asked indignantly. He walked back onto the landing. I stayed where I was, listening as Vanya’s solo began. An audible wave of power came from inside, and people started to scream. I ran to the doors as people started pouring out.

“Danny! What the hell are you doing?” Klaus yelled after me.

“I’m gonna go save my dumbass brothers. Come with, or don’t. But I’m not standing here to wait.” I ran inside, pushing past fancy people who were elbowing and shoving their way past me. The music continued to play. I flew above the crowds, but was ricocheted back by the wave of Vanya’s bow. I slammed into the far wall as the theater emptied. I shifted on the ground and army-crawled my way to the middle rows. I turned into a snake and snuck my way under the chairs. I shifted back on the row behind Diego and Luther.

“What the hell is going on?” I breathed.

“Danny, what are you doing here?” Luther asked.

“Sorry to barge in. It sounds like you really got it under control in here.” I hissed sarcastically. The music was getting louder, and the wind was picking up. A shoe came flying from the section next to us. Allison

“Well, so much for the element of surprise, so what else you got?” I asked, squeezing under the seats to crouch next to Diego and Luther. Allison made a bowing motion, like she was playing the violin.

“No shit Allison. Tell us something we don’t already know.” Diego said.

“She’s talking about the violin dumbass.” I said.

“It’s her lightening rod.” Luther said, coming to an epiphany. “If we take it from her and stop her from playing, we might have a shot.” But before we could move, the men from the bowling alley came in, and started to shoot. The orchestra scattered, and it was just Vanya on stage, continuing to play.

“What the hell happened to Klaus? He’s supposed to be our lookout!” Diego yelled, lying down behind the seats.

“Yeah, you surprised?” Luther asked. Five jumped into view.

“What’s with all the lollygagging?” He asked. I grabbed him by the ankle as he passed, and he fell just as a bullet whizzed over his head. We covered our heads as bullets rained down.

“Five, what the—I thought you bailed on us!” Luther yelled.

“I had an errand to run.” Five said, like that explained everything. Gunfire continued, taking off parts of chairs and bannisters. “This isn’t good.” Five muttered.

“You know these guys?” I asked.

“Yeah, I do.” Five said.

“And?” Diego asked. More gas masks came down the aisles.

“We’re screwed.” Five answered. Diego threw some knives blindly, and there were grunts as they hit their mark. Klaus came scrambling in from the side of the stage.

“Guys, it’s Cha-Cha.” He yelled. “It’s Cha-Cha, she—“

“Get down!” I yelled as more gunfire erupted. Five disappeared and jumped on one of their backs. The man spun around, still firing, and knocking down three others. I shifted, not focusing on what, and attacked the nearest one. _Wolf_ , I thought to myself. That was new. I leaped onto his back and tore at his neck. The man went limp and I jumped off him and attacked the next, and the next. Out of my periphery, I saw Klaus shakily stand, blue light shining through his clenched fists. A grainy blue image appeared, growing brighter and steadier. It was a person. One who I immediately recognized. I shifted back and threw myself on the ground as bullets started again.

“Ben!” I cried. He clutched at his shirt and it tore as ginormous tentacles came from his chest, picking up the gas masks and throwing them on the ground, ripping some in half, and beating others against the walls. Diego and I made contact in horror, but he jumped onto stage as Cha-Cha came into view. Gunshots stopped as the last masks were killed.

“Now who’s the lookout.” Ben turned back to Klaus. Klaus breathily laughed, waving a hand like it was nothing to bring back our dead brother and the immense power he held. WE turned our attention to Vanya. A bright white light appeared on her chest, and spread. He black concert wear turned white, and it crept up to her violin. She continued to play.

The foundation of the theater shook and cracks appeared in the walls and pillars. She began to glow, so brightly I couldn’t even look directly at her. Diego came walking down from the catwalk, like this was an average day for him.

“Where were you?” Luther panted.

“Honoring a memory.” Diego nodded at me. I gave him a small smile as we circled up. “So how do you wanna end this thing?” He asked Luther.

“We surround her, all right? We come at her from all angles.” Luther raised his voice to be heard over the music.

“So it’s a suicide mission.” Klaus said.

“Yeah, but one of us could get through. It’s the only chance we’ve got.” Five admitted. I looked around at my siblings.

“Are we all in?” Luther asked.

“Yeah.” We all nodded. Allison didn’t agree. She shook her head at Luther.

“Allison?” Luther asked. She didn’t answer. “Stage left.” He patted Diego. “Stage right.” He touched his chest. “You two take the front.” He nodded to Klaus and Five. “Up top.” He nodded to me. I shifted, flying up onto the catwalk and shifted back.

“Now!” Luther yelled after a moment where we all got in position. I jumped down as the others ran to her on each side. Before we could get within five feet, however, a wave of power hit us. We all went flying back. I waited for the pain of impact but it never came. I hesitantly opened my eyes.

We were being held by white strands of music. I tried to move, but it was like moving in gelatin. The light burned my eyes, and I tried to look at the others. No one got through. I felt my strength fleeing, like Vanya was taking it from me. Through clouded and blurry vision, I saw Allison standing behind her. I closed my eyes, the pain almost too much to bear. A loud gunshot pulled me out of it, and I was dropped on the ground. A bright light shot out of Vanya’s chest. It broke through the skylight and hit the moon. Vanya shakily stood, and fell back. Allison caught her and they both fell to the stage. We rushed to them.

“Is she alive?” I asked. Allison felt for a heartbeat.

“Yeah.” She whispered.

“She is? Yeah?” Luther confirmed. Allison nodded.

“Oh, thank God.” Diego breathed.

“We did it. We saved the world.” Luther said. Allison cradled Vanya’s head, and Luther wrapped his arm around her, holding both of them. I leaned against Diego, and smiled tiredly at Klaus, holding his hand. But Klaus stood up, staring at the sky.

“Guys?” He asked. We all looked up at through the skylight. A large chunk of rock was hurdling towards us. “You see that big moon rock coming towards us?” He asked.

“That’s not good.” Luther said, coming to stand close to us.

“So this is it, huh? So much for—saving the world.” Klaus murmured to himself, pulling out and kissing his dog tags.

“If only Sir Reginald could see us now, huh?” Diego asked. “The Umbrella Academy. A total failure.” Diego mused fatalistically.

“At least we’re all together in the end. As a family.” Luther said as explosions thundered in the distance.

“We can do something, right? We’re the Umbrella Academy!” I yelled, my throat tightening as I watched the asteroid come closer.

“This doesn’t have to be the end.” Five announced. We all turned back to look at him.

“What? What are you saying Five?” Luther asked.

“I think I have a way outta here. But you have to trust me on this.” He said.

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” Diego said.

“No.” Luther said at the same time. They turned back to watch the rock as it came closer.

“What do you mean no?” I shouted. “Everyone’s gonna die!”

“Well then you might as well accept our fate, because in less than a minute, we’re gonna be vaporized.” Five added.

“What’s your idea then?” Diego asked.

“We use my ability to time travel. But this time, I’ll take you with me.”

“You can do that?” Diego asked.

“I don’t know. I’ve never tried it before.” Five admitted.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” I shrugged.

“You’re lookin’ at it. A 58-year old man inside a child’s body.” He responded. “So there’s that.”

“What the hell, I’m in.” Diego said.

“Yeah, whatever. I’m in.” Klaus agreed.

“Me too.” Luther added. “Allison?” She nodded, still holding Vanya.

“What about Ben?” I asked. Klaus turned to listen to Ben, who I couldn’t see any more.

“Great, yeah, he’s in.” Klaus nodded. We all gathered around Allison.

“Great. Luther, grab Vanya.” Five instructed. Luther nodded and picked Vanya up.

“Wait, should we be taking her?” He asked. “I mean, if she’s the cause of the apocalypse. Isn’t that like taking the bomb with us?”

“The apocalypse will always happen.” Five told us. “And Vanya will always be the cause, unless we take her with us and fix her.” Five said. Shock waves reverberated around us as more rocks hit. We held hands in a circle, and next to me Five looked up. He squeezed our hands as tight as he could, yelling as a blue ball of energy appeared, identical to the one that he first came out of. The anomaly whipped around us, tearing at our clothes and hair.

“It’s working!” Luther yelled, although I’m not sure how he knew that.

“Hang on!” five yelled. “IT’s gonna get messy!” I looked around at my siblings, and they all looked like they did in the pictures that hung around the Academy. They looked like kids. And then, we blinked out of view.


	12. Part II Preface

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the equivalent of episode I. It'll merge with the actual script and show in Chapter 2

I tumbled through the air, the anomaly ripping my hands away from my siblings. I was falling. Falling, falling. Then I stopped, rolling on the ground in pain.

“Wait!” I scrambled to my feet, watching the anomaly contort above me in the sky. “Diego! Five! Vanya?” I called out, but the blinding blue light disappeared from view. I looked around me. A dead ending brick alleyway. Movement in my peripheral pulled my attention, but curtains were swiftly closed in the previously open window, and I turned my attention back to my surroundings. I walked out onto the sidewalk, the sunset casting long shadows on the street.

“Excuse me,” I reached out to an older woman, but she crossed the street to avoid me. I brushed it off as nothing, as a random woman emerging from an alley would scare anyone off. Continuing down the street, I was given numerous strange looks, parents pulling their kids close when I walked by. After a few blocks, a siren sounded behind me.

“Hey!” The police car came up next to me.

“Finally.” I gave a laugh of relief. “Thank goodness.” I came closer to the car. The police officers both leaned back.

“Ma’am. Don’t get any closer. Do you know where you are?” The driver asked. I looked around, a small crowd gathering a safe distance away to watch.

“No! I don’t. Where the hell am I?” I cried.

“What are you, dumb?” The cop asked. I went to say something profane towards the man, but the hair rising on the back of my neck stopped me. Something was wrong.

“I—I’m lost.” I admitted.

“This is north Dallas kid.” The cop’s body language relaxed slightly. “You and your people, they belong in south Dallas.” My fists clenched.

“Me and my peo—“ I started angrily, but I stopped, taking a breath. “How do I get there? I’m from outta town.” The passenger side cop looked at his partner and back to me and sighed.

“Go down the block, and take a right at the stop sign. Busses run every fifteen minutes, but the bus for _you folks_ is comin’ in half an hour. Get home now, you hear.” The police officer manually cranked his window up and they drove off. The small crowd had dispersed; I was apparently of no interest now. I followed the man’s directions, but something stopped me.

“Thank god.” I muttered to myself as I found a newspaper dispenser tucked in an alleyway. I looked around; making sure no one was watching and broke the glass, carefully pulled out the first newspaper. “What the hell?” The headline read: _Kennedy’s Dallas Tour Date Confirmed for November 22, 1963._ And the top right corner of the newspaper told me that was four months away. I tucked the newspaper in my back pocket and went behind the dumpster, shifting into a bird. I needed to get the hell out of this part of town. I flew due south past flashy buildings, the scenery slowly shifted to smaller and closer homes. I landed in an abandoned alley behind an old patchwork church, brick in some places, rebuilt with wood in others. The hand-painted sign above the front door read _New South Baptist Church; all welcome_. Sounds of life came inside, and I figured this was my best bet for safety and help. I walked inside, down the stairs towards the arguing voices. I opened the chipped door at the end of the hallway.

A man, his back towards me was addressing a small crowd, maybe thirty people in total. Lounging in mismatched chairs, it looked like a secret meeting.

“And that’s why we need to unite and protest on a larger front!” He cried out.

“Hold on James. What’re you doing here?” An older, gruff man in the front row nodded towards me. The speaker stopped, and all eyes were on me.

“I-uh, I’m not from here, I-I’m lost, and I don’t know where to go.” I answered truthfully. The congregation looked and muttered amongst themselves, glancing sporadically back towards me.

“Where’d you come from?” A woman’s voice in the back of the group asked.

“I was with my siblings, and then—and then we got separated somehow, and now I don’t know where they went.” I answered truthfully, but not too truthfully.

“You got separated, huh? What happened?” For some reason, this was suddenly too much. My eyes started to water as I was led to a chair.

“Two weeks ago my dad died, and then my siblings and I had to leave, and then we got separated somehow on the way here, and I don’t know where they are.” I brushed the tears off my face. An older woman with long, grey black hair tied up in a strict bun slowly moved through the group towards me.

“It’s okay, we’re here to help. My name’s Margaret Redwing. What tribe are you from, honey?” She asked maternally, brushing some hair off my face.

“What?” I asked, mystified by such an abrupt question.

“That goddamn forced assimilation. You got separated right? We can help you. Forced to come to the city with nothing.” The woman angrily spat. “We can help you, but we need to know where you’re from. Find your siblings, and get you on your feet. We’ve taken in dozens of kids who were forced from their tribes over the last twenty years.”

“But how do you know I’m—“

“Honey,” The woman interrupted. “You sure as shit ain’t white, and you ain’t black, so,” She trailed off, waiting for my answer.

“I’m Blackfeet. Montana.” I answered. “Can you help me or not?”

“Violet Youngtree? Vi, are you here?” James, the man from before, asked the group. Another woman raised her hand, giving me a small smile. It took me a minute to realize, but scattered between the masses, there were Native Americans mixed in with the African American congregation.

“Perfect. Vi, could you take her in? Your kids are about the same age, right? She’d be a great news runner.” James looked back to me.

“Yeah, Rosemary and Jesse wouldn’t mind.” Violet confirmed. “She’s a few years younger and just young enough to be a news runner. Probably won’t get stopped much either.”

“What’s a news runner?” I asked.

“One of the main problems with the movement is keeping them small enough and distant enough that the cops won’t break us up for anything. We need someone to get the notes from the end of the meetings to the others. Violet here’s the head of the Native branch, and her kids look too old to be news runners. Cops are a lot more likely to arrest adults than kids.” James explained. “What’s your name kid?”

“Uh, Danielle. Danielle Clah-Hargreeves.” I answered.

“Okay, Ms. Danielle, Margret here will help you get some non-bloody and torn clothes, okay? And Miss Violet will house you until we find your family.” James told me.

“Why?”

“Why what?” Violet asked, coming to sit in the front row.

“Why are you helping me?” I asked. Violet’s eyes crinkled in a smile, and she took my hand.

“We may not be from the same tribe, but we’re together in this. I’m Choctaw, you’re Blackfeet, it’s all the same. I came here when they promised jobs, but we all know promises are rarely kept for people like us. We’re in this together.” Violet explained.

“Danny dear, just cause we look different doesn’t mean we’re not fighting the same fight.” James added. “Here, our brothers and sisters are from all walks of life, but we’re all connected. You’re safe here, and we’ll help you find your family.”

~

I waited until no one was in view before I dashed across the street and up to the front door of a small, average looking house. I knocked three times in rapid succession, and then twice slowly. A set of slow footsteps came up and then the door opened slightly.

“Oh, it’s Danny!” The young woman, I think her name was Francine, called to the back of the house. “What’s the news?” I handed her a small stack of papers from my bag.

“It’s from the 8th street meeting, and we thought these might help.” I answered. “You got any notes or news?”

“We got in contact with Ray Chestnut, and we’re gonna try and join the sit in.”

“Who’s Ray?” I asked, jotting down the name.

“He’s one of the ones in charge over in the beauty shop. But that’s all the news we’ve got.” I bid her goodnight and she closed the door. I ducked behind a large patch of shrubbery as a car drove by, and sprinted down the block, towards home. I was only a block away when bright red and blue flashes illuminated the street in front of me. I slowed to a halt, my heart beating faster at the sirens than from running.

I turned to look at the cops as they carefully emerged from the car, and then towards home. I could probably make it. Still watching the cops, I slowly started to back up.

“Hey! Don’t move!” I turned and started to run. I only got a few feet when I was tackled to the ground, my arms pulled behind me and roughly cuffed.

“What the hell? I didn’t do anything!” I cried out. House lights around me turned on and concerned neighbors came onto their front lawns. They were torn between helping me and worried about their own safety. One of the members of our group, Janine, went back into her house and came out with a camera. She worked for the local newspaper. Hopefully she could get the story out and get me a lawyer. I was pushed into the backseat and the door was slammed behind me.

“What about my Miranda Rights?” I kicked the back of the driver’s seat. The cop riding shotgun turned around.

“What the hell are you talking about, Miranda Rights?” He asked. Damn it. The rest of the ride was in silence. I was taken across town, not to the holding facilities I had previously been to.

“Why am I here? I didn’t do anything wrong!” I argued as I was led inside. My name and picture was taken. I struggled against the officers as I was hauled towards the holding cells.

“Knock it off or we’ll add resistance of justice to your list of charges.” The one on the right smacked my upside the head.

“And what are my charges exactly?” I asked. The first cop opened the second cell and I was pushed in, my cuffs taken off as the door shut.

“Suspicious activity with the intent of harm. Now shut the hell up and we’ll deal with you tomorrow.” They both left. I went and sat between an elderly woman who was probably alive and just sleeping, and a young girl no older than fifteen. I curled up and rested my head on my knees. Nothing to do until tomorrow.


	13. Season II, Episode II

I stirred, confused why fluorescent lights were the first thing I saw. Then I remembered the last twelve hours. The woman next to me was still sleeping, or at least hopefully sleeping, but the girl was gone. I stood up and stretched my legs, nodding to a woman who just came into our cell.

“What time is it?” I asked her. she shrugged.

“Dunno. Got arrested about ten thirty though. Can’t tell you much more than that.” I sat heavily on the other bench, leaning against the bars that separated the colored cell from the white one. I looked into their cell, watching a middle aged woman tossing and turning on the bench nearest to me. She was wearing a turquoise tunic and cloth pants. That wasn’t the strange thing though, it was what was written on her hands. I reached through the bars and grabbed the hand she had covering her eyes. The woman jerked awake.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“Where did you get this?” I asked, pointing to her hand with my free one. “Where did you get this?” I said louder. Other people in the white cell watched me nervously.

“Why is this written on your hands?” I repeated myself.

“It’s from the great prophet.” The woman told me. “He tells us that when you take the good, you take the bad, then you take them both, and then you have the facts of life.” I let go of her hands and laughed out loud. Of course he was leading a cult.

“Klaus. Where is he? Where can I find him?” The cell door opened and I was grabbed by the upper arm. “Where is he?” I repeated myself, holding onto the bars to hear what she had to say.

“He’s—“

“Come on. You’ve caused enough trouble for us as is.” I was ripped away from the bars and led out of the holding pen. I was led down a series of hallways.

“What’s going on? Where am I going?” I asked, thrashing against the officer. 

“Stop it. You’ve caused enough goddamn trouble. Putting in that damn newspaper article about us kidnapping kids. Get the hell outta here.” He grumbled as he opened the door, giving me a gentile push. The door closed behind me. I squinted in the sunlight, my eyes adjusting rapidly to the bright light.

“Breaking news: Cops kidnapping kids.” A familiar, annoying voice read aloud. I turned back towards the door. Five was leaning against the brick wall, reading from a local newspaper. “’Danielle Clah-Hargreeves was taken into police custody last night around 7:00 PM with no provocation’. Figured you’d land yourself in trouble.” I walked over and tore the newspaper out of his hands, and punched him right in the face. Five groaned, bringing a hand up to wipe the blood off his lip.

“Goddamn.” He muttered. Then I pulled him to me and gave him a hug.

“How long have you been here?” I asked, letting him go.

“Only about two days. You?”

“Four months. Any news on the others?” I asked. We walked out of the parking lot and continued down the sidewalk.

“Not much. Diego’s in a nuthouse,” Five started. I busted out laughing.

“A nuthouse? Really?” I asked. Five nodded. “I’m surprised it’s taken this long. Who else?”

“Luther’s working as Jack Ruby’s body man. Not sure if that’s a masseuse or a bodyguard, but he’s down at the Carousal Club. So far that’s all I’ve got. Oh, and with Hazel’s dying breath, he gave me this, which will hopefully show how the world ended.” Five handed me a projector tape.

“Jack Ruby.” I repeated, stopping. Five turned back to me. “The same one that—“

“Killed Oswald, yeah. Go figure.” He agreed. I gave out a low whistle. Small world. I turned the tape over in my hands, reading the description on the back.

“Frankel footage? November 22, 19—“ I stopped. “When Kennedy was shot. Holy shit. Why is this important?” I handed the tape back to Five.

“Cause by November 25th, the apocalypse was back.” Five told me. I groaned.

“Again? I thought we stopped it.” I complained. We turned a corner and I recognized the street as the one I crash-landed on four months prior.

“Apparently not. How about you, you got anything on the others?”

“Not much. No trace on Vanya or Allison, but I know that Klaus is a damn cult leader, which I guess we could’ve seen coming.” I answered. Five pulled open the front door for Morty’s Television and Radio. I followed Five up the steps to an apartment.

“What are we doing here?”

“I found a friend.” Five answered.

“A friend?”

“Well,” Five reflected. “More of a loony conspiracy theorist who has secret photos of all of us coming into this timeline.”

“Who the hell are you?” A man came out of a side room, holding a bowl of cereal.

“This is my sister Danny, Elliott. She’s the one that came in August 3rd.”

“Oh. Are you an alien too?” Elliott asked me. I turned back to Five.

“What the hell-“

“Yes. We’re both aliens.” Five nudged me. Oh, that kinda crazy. I looked around the apartment, coming closer to look at a bulletin board fill of pictures. Grainy black and white ones of my siblings and me, each of us in the alleyway that I landed in. Each was given a specific date too. Five joined me.

“Elliott, did you develop these photos yourself?” He asked.

“Of course. Can’t exactly drop that stuff off at the neighborhood Fotomat. Government has eyes everywhere.” He gestured with the spoon.

“I didn’t see a darkroom.” Five said.

“Yeah, I converted the hallway closet.” A nearby radio squealed, and Elliott turned to adjust it. Five pulled the tape out of his pocket and scratched off the date.

“Can you develop this?” He showed Elliott the tape. He took it.

“Frankel Footage.” He read aloud. “Friend of yours?”

“Cousins on our robot mother’s side.” Five lied. “Can you do it or not?”

“Sure I can.”

“How long?”

“Well, I mean, I’m running low of acetic acid. Beeker’s Cameras is open today, but it’s two miles away. I mean, I’d have to take the bus.” Elliott started to pace, gesturing with the tape and the bowl. “On the other hand, Gibson’s is only ten blocks away, but I gotta cut through the park, and there’s this overbreed of pigeon—“

“Elliott.” I interrupted.

“It’s like five, maybe six hours.” He replied. The same radio from before clicked and a man’s voice rang out.

“Attention all units, we have a code 3-15 at the Holbrook Sanitarium.”

“The hell is a code 3-15?” Five asked Elliott.

“Mmm. Fugitives on the run.” I went over and turned up the volume on the police scanner.

“Many are considered armed and dangerous.”

“Diego.” Five and I said in unison.

“Oh, who’s Diego?” Elliott asked.

“Imagine Batman, and then aim lower.” Five said. “You get started on that film. We’ll be back as soon as we can.” Five and I left.

“Meet back here in four hours if we can’t find him.” I told Five. He nodded and began to run down the street. I ducked behind a trashcan and shifted, figuring that a birds-eye view would be the best option. I went in the opposite direction of Five. I must have landed and shifted a dozen times, but none of the men I found were Diego.

After the allotted time, I flew back to Elliott’s and climbed up the stairs to his apartment. He was hunched over the projector, fiddling with the footage reel.

“Do you mind if I use the phone?” I asked him. Elliott waved his hand, not tearing his eyes away from the projector. The phone rang three, four, five times.

“Hello?”

“Oh thank god, Jesse!” I gave a laugh of relief. “It’s me. Danny.”

“Holy shit. Where the hell are you? We’ve been calling everywhere!” Jesse yelled to someone in the background. “Rosemary, Ma, it’s Danny!” I heard two pairs of footsteps and then Rosemary’s voice.

“Danny. Where are you?” She asked breathily into the phone. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I was taken to the 12th street holding. I was released a few hours ago. Rosie, I found my brother.” I told her. “He read the newspaper article that Janine had published and figured out where I was.”

“Honey, it’s Violet. You found your brother? Which one?” I heard Rosemary’s protests in the background, angry that Violet took the phone.

“My younger one. Vi, he knows where Diego is. And while I was in jail, I found someone who knows Klaus.” I hadn’t realized how much had happened over a five hour period of time until I said it out loud.

“That’s amazing Danny! When will you be home? Everyone was worried about you at the meeting.”

“I-I don’t know Vi. I’ll try to be home tonight, okay? I’ll let you know whatever—“ A hand reached out and pressed down the receiver, hanging up the phone.

“What the hell? Elliott?” I put the phone back and turned around. Elliott backed up, a rifle trained on me.

“Where did you get this?” His voice shook, I couldn’t tell if it was from fear or anger.

“Elliott, put down the gun.” I held out my hands to him. He held it closer, not wavering. “I don’t know where Five got that, but I know it looks crazy, okay? I’m sure he can explain.” I slowly moved towards him. “Let’s sit down and talk this out, okay?” He followed me to the living room, sitting down across from me. It was only a matter of minutes before the front door opened.

“Don’t move.” Elliott hissed at me. I held my hands in a surrender position. Five led, a woman following, and Diego in the back.

“Where did you get the film?” Elliott asked, training the gun on them now.

“Diego! Hey.” I held out an arm towards him. Elliott whipped back to me, gun loaded and ready. I held my hands up again.

“The Frankel Footage. The truth this time.” He looked at Five but didn’t move the gun away from me.

“You know this lunatic?” Diego asked. Five sighed.

“New acquaintance. He’s harmless.” He responded.

“Really?” I asked, not taking my eyes off the barrel of the gun.

“Are you sure about that?” The woman asked. She had a British accent, which made me wonder what she was doing in an American asylum.

“Are you or are you not an enemy of the people?” Elliott yelled, bringing me back to what was happening.

“Such an open-ended question, yeah.” Diego said.

“Really depends on the people.” Five agreed. I made a non-committal shrug, agreeing with my brothers .

“You move one more muscle and I will blow her and your brains out.” Elliott’s hands began to shake.

“You wanna get him?” I asked Diego and Five.

“You want to take this or should I?” Diego turned to Five.

“No, I got him.” Five nodded. Diego turned and said something to his friend as Five reappeared right in front of Elliott and pushed the gun up. Elliott shot into the ceiling, and Diego came over, snatching the gun away. He pulled out the clip and tossed out the bullet in the chamber. Elliott gasped, frozen in fear.

“What the hell just happened?” The woman asked. I snuck behind Elliott and grabbed some rope from the kitchen table. Diego held him still as I tied him to the chair in the living room. The projector and screen were already lined up, and we gathered around as Five hit play. An old woman was bickering with the holder of the camera.

“They’re so cute.” The woman said as she painted Elliott’s toenails. “I love old couples. I’m always so proud of them for not murdering each other.

“Why are we watching this?” Diego asked, sitting on the counter.

“Shush.” Five said, not taking his eyes off the tape. The couple introduced themselves as Edna and Dan Frankel. 

“We are in Dallas, Texas to see the president. Today’s date is November 22, 1963.” Dan narrated, in front of the shaky camera.

“Well that’s six days from now.” The woman said.

“Holy shit. This is it.” Diego said, finally paying attention. “The grassy knoll. Kennedy’s about to get shot. How do you have this?”

“Hazel died to get me this footage.” Five explained. “It must be the key to stopping doomsday.”

“Hazel?” Diego asked.

“Long story.” Five answered.

“Doomsday?” The woman asked.

“Longer story.” I answered.

“What exactly did he say to you?” Diego asked Five as we continued to watch the film.

“He was killed before he could explain. But whatever he wanted us to see, it’s on this film.” The man was saying something, but gunshots rang out, and the camera was dropped, showing us sideways footage. People were screaming on film.

“Oswald.” Diego said. The camera was picked up and steadied as the screams continued. I gasped. Standing in front of the camera, across the street was a man in all black with a black umbrella above his head. I recognized that man.

“Oh no.” Five muttered, pausing the film. He backed up with the projector, effectively zooming in. “This can’t be.” He walked closer to the screen.

“Okay, you gonna fill me in now? What the hell s this shit we’re watching?” The woman asked, now concerned. Diego and Five came closer to the screen, not believing what they were seeing. I stood where I was, completely frozen.

“That’s impossible.” Diego breathed.

“Clearly, it’s not.” Five responded.

“What—what is it?” Elliott asked through his gag.

“Dad.” Diego, Five, and I said in unison.

“Of course Dad would be involved in the assassination. I should’ve known.” Diego sat down heavily next to me.

“You’re jumping to conclusions.” Five paced.

“What else is he doing standing on the grassy knoll,” Diego stood and walked toward him. “Holding an open black umbrella on a sunny day in Dallas the exact same moment the president gets shot.” He yelled.

“It doesn’t look good.” I added.

“No, he’s the signalman for the whole goddamn thing.” Diego said quietly, like he didn’t want to believe it.

“Easy Diego.” Five said. “Seriously.”

“No, no. It makes sense. This is what Hazel was obviously trying to tell you. We have to stop dad from killing the president.”

“Diego calm down, all right? Dad was no boy scout, but presidential assassination? It’s never been his thing.”

“How would you know?” Diego asked. “You skipped out on his golden years.”

“He didn’t do it.” I argued.

“Skipped out?” Five stepped closer to him. “You think I had it easy? I was alone for forty-five years.” I could tell he wanted to argue further, but he stepped away again. “You know what? We don’t have the time for this right now. Dad’s clearly in Dallas, right? Let’s just go talk to him. Maybe he can help us fix the timeline.” Five began to pace.

“Dallas is a big place. We gotta find him first.” Diego said.

“Gee, if only we had some magical, old-timey way of finding people and their addresses.” Five sassed. I went into the kitchen and grabbed the phonebook off the counter.

“Let’s start simple. His name.” Five came over and stood by me. I opened the book and searched through the Hs.

“Nothing here.” I said.

“Try his company. D.S. Umbrella Manufacturing Co.” Five said, Diego flipping through the book.

“Yeah, I know the name.” Diego said after a beat, turning to Five. I took the book back and flipped to D.

“Holy shit.” I held my finger under the line, reading aloud. “D.S. Umbrella. Eighty-two Olive.”

“Let’s go.” Diego said. I wrote down the address and followed them back through the living room. We heard Elliott struggling behind us.

“He okay to leave here like that?” Diego asked.

“Yeah, he’s fine.” Five answered. “What about the girl.” We stopped and turned to look back at Elliott and the woman.

“Hold on.” Diego went back.

“Hey.” Five quietly hissed, pulled my attention from upstairs. “I need you to stay here and watch her. There’s something weird about her. And I don’t want her following us. I don’t trust her.

“Yeah, neither do I, but I’m not staying here while with her. You stay.” I whispered back .

“No. Between the two of us, who would she not see following her? Huh?” He actually had a valid point. 

“Fine. You owe me.” I climbed back up the stairs. The front door closed and I watched as they hotwired a car and sped away. I was rifling through Elliott’s kitchen when the darkroom door opened, and the woman slipped out.

“Where are you going?” I asked lightly, as she tried to creep past me.

“Oh, um. I’m just going to the store real quick. Do you need anything?” She asked, just as breezily. I didn’t buy it.

“No, you’re good.” I answered. She gave me a small smile as she left. I waited for a minute and then climbed down the fire escape. She started a car in the alleyway across from Elliott’s store and started to drive away. I shifted into an owl and followed after her. She turned into the parking lot of an average looking business, not what I would have expected as Dad’s place of work. I landed on the nearest power line as she parked. She knew she was being watched, constantly looking around her and creeping towards the building. I flew closer, landing on her car. She jumped and looked back at me. I gave a quiet hoot, making eye contact with her. The woman eventually turned away and slipped into the building.

After waiting for what I thought was the appropriate amount of time for stalking, I flew over the building, watching as a car speed away from the rear of the lot. I landed on the edge of the roof, shifting back. I smelled fresh blood, and a lot of it.


	14. Season II, Episode III

I ran down the fire escape stairs and dashed towards what looked like a scrapyard. Five and the woman were there already.

“Diego?” I panted. He was lying in a small pool of blood, a stab wound right below his ribs. The woman carefully shifted him to a sitting position.

“Were you following me?” She asked me angrily.

“Well, you were following us.” Five qualified, looking down at Diego’s unconscious form.

“Come on. Help me get him to the car.” The woman struggled to get Diego to his feet. Five grumbled, but grabbed Diego’s other arm and they drug him to the car. We tossed him in the backseat, and the woman got in the driver’s side, looking back at us.

“You coming?” She asked Five and me.

“We’re good.” I snapped. She didn’t seem too hurt by that, waving at us as she left the parking lot. Five turned to me.

“I thought you were gonna stop her!”

“No, you said to watch her. Which I did as I followed her.” I responded. “Don’t pin this on me.” Five grimaced as we walked towards the car.

“What happened to you?” I asked, noticing the scratches on his neck.

“Found an old friend.” He said mysteriously.

“You don’t have friends. Who was it?” I pressed.

“Pogo.” He sighed. Then he disappeared in a flash of blue.

“Damn kid always leaving. Nightmare child. You didn’t have to come back from the future. There was no ‘thank you Danny for stalking the crazy lady’. ” I grumbled to myself, shifting again into a bird and flying back to Elliott’s. I shifted behind the dumpster and climbed upstairs. Diego was unconscious on the couch, the woman dabbing at his now cauterized wound with a wet cloth.

“He’s quite small for being so angry.” She said as I walked by. I assumed she was talking about Five.

“He’s actually being friendly. You get used to it.” I said flatly, going into the kitchen and getting coffee. My muscles and bones ached from two shifts in one day after not having done it for months.

“Tired?” Five gave me a smug smile.

“Shut up.” I growled over my mug. Suddenly alarms started going off in the living room.

“Hey, we’ve got one.” Elliott called. Five and I rushed over, looking at the strange machines. ”Yeah, one of those machines you asked for is going crazy.”

“Which one?” Five asked.

“It’s the, uh, atmospheric radar.” We gathered around the machine, staring at the screen.

“Good.”

“I don’t get it. What are you tracking?” Elliott asked Five. “A hurricane? Storm front?”

“Sound waves.” Five said.

“Sound waves. Huh,” Elliott mused. Five grabbed my hand and zapped us away as Elliott continued to talk.

We were on the side of a crossroad, the Dallas skyline far in the distance, the rising sun making it seem like the city was on fire.

“What the hell?” I ripped my hand away. “Give me some damn warning. Besides, why’d you bring me?” I looked around, seeing a crashed car, halfway in the ditch and halfway in a cornfield.

“Cause I’m not sure what her reaction will be, and I don’t want to need backup without having some. Come on.” Five walked into the corn and basically disappeared. The stalks were easily above our heads, making it hard to see where Vanya could be.

“Danny.” Five’s voice came from my left. I pushed through a few stalks and stopped in my tracks.

“Holy shit.” We were standing at the edge of what looked like a crop circle. “Well, it’s either aliens or Vanya.”

“Can you sense her or anything?” Five asked. I listened as carefully as possible, but there was nothing but the slight rustling from the wind. I took a deep breath, trying to weed out the corn smell from anything possibly human.

“I smell something. Hold on. It’s coming from—from—from over there. I’m not sure it’s Vanya, but it could be.” We crossed the crop circle and pushed through a few more rows of corn. Five leaned over and parted some stalks.

“Hi Vanya.” He said. I gave her a hand, but she hesitated before taking it.

“Who-who are you?” She asked, standing up.

“I’m your brother.” Five said. She then turned to me.

“Sister.” I confirmed.

“I have siblings?” She asked. I looked over at Five with a ‘what the hell’ look, he gave me a slight shrug.

“Look,” He turned back to Vanya. “You can either stay here and wait for the Ikea mafia to come back to kill you, or you can come with me.”

“What?” I asked. “There’s a mafia?” That was probably something I should have known about.

“Yeah, three Swedish guys.” Five confirmed. We started walking back towards the road.

“Why are they trying to kill me?” Vanya trailed a few steps behind us.

“Cause you’re not supposed to be here, Vanya.” Five told her.

“In Dallas?”

“No,” I sighed. “Here, in 1963.” We had come to the edge of the crop circle. Vanya slowed down as she took it in.

“Holy shit.” She breathed.

“Yeah, pretty wild right?” Five smiled, looking at Vanya, and then to the damage she’d done. “It’s good to see your powers are still intact. Let’s go.” We walked back to the crossroads.

“This your car?” Five asked, pointing to the wrecked car. It looked drivable, except for being half stuck in a ditch and a cornfield.

“Uh, yeah.” Vanya said. Five turned to me.

“Can you get it out? Otherwise I think we’re walking.”

“Is it a good idea to show her right now? Since she doesn’t know us or what we can do? I’m worried she might freak out.” I whispered to Five.

“Yeah, well if she does, at least we know. Better to know now than when we need her powers.” He raised a valid point. I knelt in front of the car and shifted into the biggest animal I was able. A bison. I lowered my horns to the car’s grill and pushed as hard as I was able. The back wheels started to turn, and the car’s front wheels left the ground. I gave a final shove and the car was back on the road. I shifted back and groaned as my bones came back to the size they were supposed to.

“How come you can’t do anything useful like this?” I asked Five. He slid down the ditch and helped me to my feet. Every step hurt, and it was a struggle to get to the car. I climbed in the backseat, the stabbing pain ebbing away and becoming a persistent ache in my bones.

“What just happened?” Vanya asked, frozen to the spot. I rolled down the window.

“I can shapeshift, we’ll explain later. But right now, I need coffee. I’ve been up for over twenty-four hours.”

We stopped at a nearby diner and sat at the bar. A waitress came by with a pot of coffee and filled our cups. She went to leave with the pot, but I gently touched her arm. She startled, fear in her eyes, and the slightest bit of anger.

“Leave the pot, dear.” Five smiled at her. The waitress strode off, muttering under her breath about being lippy little shits and people like me.

“You gonna tell me what the hell’s going on?” Vanya asked after a second. Five turned to me.

“You wanna tell her?” He asked.

“Nah.” I shook my head. “This one’s all yours. I’ll chime in as needed.”

“When you were a baby, you were bought by an eccentric billionaire.” I drank and then refiled my coffee as he spoke. “He raised you in an elite academy with six other siblings with extraordinary powers.”

“Seven.” I corrected.

“Yes, but you came later.” He responded, not bothering to turn and look at me. “Anyways, in the year 2019, in order to avoid the apocalypse, we jumped into a vortex and ended up being scattered throughout the timeline in Dallas, Texas. Any questions.” Vanya looked unsteadily ahead, confused.

“What do you mean, the apocalypse?” She asked.

“The end of the world as we know it.” I answered.

“Yeah, but how?”

Five and I looked at each other with unease. She really didn’t remember anything? Five vocalized that question.

“No, nothing before a month ago.” She confirmed.

“Then what do you remember?” I asked, leaning around Five to see her better.

“I landed in, like a… back alley. Got hit by a car, my head was ringing like crazy. I had no idea how I got there, where I came from.” She paused. “What causes the apocalypse?” Five and I both took an interest in our coffee, trying to think of something plausible that wasn’t entirely the truth.

“Asteroid impact.” Five said. I had to give it to him, that was a good one and technically the truth. “The big kaboom ends everything. Just like the one that got the dinosaurs, except way worse. Bad news is, it followed us here.”

“What do you mean, ‘followed us’?” She asked.

“Eight days from now, the world ends in a nuclear doomsday. It’s a different disease, but same result.”

Vanya stared at him for a second, trying to see if he was lying. “That can’t be right.” She protested.

“I saw it. With my own eyes.” He sighed. “You were there. We all were.” Vanya sat in silence for a second, trying to take everything in.

“Shit.” She muttered. “I need to make a phone call.”

“Vanya.” Five called back, but she had already started to dial. We let her talk for a second, making sure she didn’t say anything too important. Five set the cup down and strode over, pressing down the receiver and ending the call.

“What the hell?” Vanya asked angrily.

“We don’t have time for this.” Five argued.

“That’s my friend you just hung up on.” She said. Five grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Listen to me.” Five said quietly. I walked over, trying not to make a scene. “Those people from the field are coming after us.” He continued. “They are never going to stop. Do you understand me? We need to stick together, find the others, and figure out how to stop doomsday. Whoever this person is, they can’t be more important than the end of the world.” People were starting to stare.

“We need to go.” I said, wrapping an arm around Vanya’s shoulders. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and we followed Five out. The ride back to Elliott’s was in relative silence. Vanya would ask the occasional question, and Five and I would try and answer it as best we could, without revealing that the asteroid impact was because of her. We drove past Elliott’s shop and towards the seedier parts of north Dallas.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Jack Ruby’s fighting ring.” Five said.

“Who’s Jack Ruby?” Vanya asked.

“Someone who’s gonna become very popular in seven days.” I answered. We pulled up in front and slipped through the ring doors, no one noticing us. The fight had already started, Luther and the man circling each other, jabbing when possible. The three of us walked crouched over to avoid any attention as the fight continued. Then, it looked as if Luther had shut down, his eyes distant and glassy. The other man swung and caught him right in the jaw. Both Luther and the other man looked surprised. But Luther didn’t hit back. The man hit him again.

“Look, he’s pummeling him.” Vanya protested. Luther said something to the man, I couldn’t hear through all the yelling. The man grabbed Luther by the shoulders and tossed him. Luther slammed into the wooden barricade right where we were.

“Oh my god, Luther!” Vanya cried.

“Why isn’t he fighting back?” Five asked. I stared on in sick awe as Luther was punched again and again.

“Luther, are you crazy? Just hit him!” I yelled. Then, with a final, sickening uppercut, Luther left his feet and fell to the ground. Unconscious.

“Shit.” Five breathed.

“Why didn’t he fight back?” Vanya asked, and neither of us had an answer for her. The crowd booed and hissed as his opponent did a victory lap around the ring and then left. The crowds parted, and Jack Ruby disappeared soon after with a gaggle of his men, leaving Luther in the ring. We followed the last of the crowds out onto the street.

“Aren’t you gonna talk to him?” Vanya asked, gesturing back at the building.

“Not now.” Five said.

“Probably wouldn’t remember the conversation anyways. We’ll go tomorrow.” I agreed. “Besides, I gotta get home. They’re probably worried about me. Here,” I grabbed a flyer from a telephone pole and scribbled down an address.

“Meet me here tomorrow at eight. We can go see Luther together. Just in case.” I handed the address to Five. “See you tomorrow.” I gave Vanya a quick hug and then left. I ducked in an alley and shifted. It took a few tries before I was able to successfully shift, and I flew towards home. I made sure no one was around and I shifted back, groaning. This was going to take some getting used to after months of staying human.

“Danielle!” The front door opened and Violet came running out, wrapping me in a tight hug. “I was so worried about you!” She held me at arm’s length and looked me over. “Did they hurt you? What happened?” She wrapped an arm around me and brought me inside. Six people were gathered at the dining table, pouring over something and talking amongst themselves.

“Guess who finally decided to show up?” Violet called out. The people came gushing over, asking where I was and what happened, all talking over each other. They led me to the dining table and sat around me.

“Stop. Give her some air.” Violet came back in and handed me some tea.

“Thanks Vi.” She patted me on the shoulder and sat down at the other end of the table.

“Where did they take you? Cause you weren’t at the Elm holding.” Jesse asked.

“How do you know that?” I teased. Jesse went to explain, but Violet shushed him with a glare.

“We’re not talking about him and the poor life decisions he makes. We want to hear about what happened.” Violet said.

“Uh, I was held for the night, but I was released yesterday morning because of Janine’s paper. Apparently it was too much trouble to hold me any longer, and then when I walked out, my little brother was waiting for me.”

“Which brother is this?” Rosemary asked.

“Five. And then, we found Diego, who had just escaped from Holbrook.”

“The insane asylum?” Thomas, Violet’s husband asked. “You never mentioned he was crazy.” I laughed.

“Yeah, well I had gotten used to it, but I guess Dallas thought he was some sort of threat.” I brushed off what threat that was. “And Vanya ended up in the country somehow, but we ended up finding her too. Luther’s working for Jack Ruby as a fighter.”

“Jack Ruby? The gangster?” Rosemary asked. “He’s a fighter for Ruby? Holy shit Danny.” She gave a low whistle.

“Any news on the other ones?”

“Nothing.” I sighed, not wanting to mention that one of them was a cult leader. “We’re gonna go talk to Luther tomorrow and see if he knows where Allison is.” The group moved on to other topics and I meandered upstairs to the room I shared with Rosemary. Quietly packing a bag with clothes and money I had earned over the last four months, I tucked it under my bed, behind some shoes. I crashed on the bed, clothes and all, and passed out.


	15. Season II, Episode IV

“Danny!” Violet’s yell woke me up. I got dressed, grabbed my bag, and ran downstairs, figuring that something was wrong. Violet was standing in the living room, casually looking out the window every few seconds.

“What?” I asked, worried it was the police again.

“There is a small, angry white boy in that car. I asked him what he wanted and he said he was waiting for you.” She nudged the curtain. I opened it. Vanya and Five were sitting patiently at the end of the driveway in the same car as yesterday.

“Oh shit.” I grumbled.

“Who is that?” Violet asked. I opened the door to leave.

“Oh, they’re my siblings.” I smiled at her. She raised an eyebrow with an unasked question. “They’re adopted.” I whispered to her like it was a dirty family secret. I walked down the sidewalk to the car.

“Would have been nice to know that they were white.” She called after me as I climbed in the backseat and Vanya drove away. 

“She seems nice.” Five turned to me. I laughed. 

“She can be intense, but she never asked too many questions, which I gotta respect.” We drove to a single men's housing complex in northwest Dallas, pulling along the side of the building and stopping.

“Okay, let’s go.” Vanya got out of the car. Five and I didn’t move. “What are you doing? Let’s go.”

“I think it’s best if you go in alone.” Five told her. “We’re not speaking at the moment.” Vanya looked at me.

“I think I’ll pass. They probably won’t let me in anyways.” Vanya slammed the car door and strode inside. I got out and hopped on the trunk of the car. Five came out and joined me, leaning against the driver’s side door. After a few minutes, a hole was punched out on the second floor, bricks crumbling and falling to the ground. Luther looked out as the dust cleared. Five started to laugh, and I joined him, giving Luther a small wave. A few seconds later, Vanya came storming out of the building.

“Well that clearly went well.” Five said, crossing the street to meet her. “You ready to go?”

“I’m going back to the farm.” Vanya said. Five ran after her.

“Hey. Unacceptable, Vanya. Remember, we need to stick together.” I jumped off the trunk as she got to the car.

“Why? So I don’t end the world again?” She turned to Five.

“Son of a bitch.” I grumbled. Damn Luther and his big mouth.

“Were you even gonna tell me?” Vanya asked as she opened the car door.

“You know what, in my defense, no. All right?” Five defended angrily. “And can you blame me? When you... when you get angry, shit blows up.”

“Great. Are there any other family secrets you didn’t tell me?”

“So many.” I gave a small laugh.

“Which we don’t have the luxury of sharing them with the—“ Five stopped and knocked on the window. Vanya sighed and rolled it down, looking straight ahead. “The clock is ticking on doomsday. Just tell me that when we need you, you’ll be ready.”

Vanya glared at us. “I can’t help you. I don’t even know who I am.” She started the car.

“You’re our sister.” I argued.

“And a member of the Umbrella Academy.” Five joined in. “Like it or not, that’s who you are.”

“Look, that’s who I was, okay? New timeline, new me.” She started to drive off.

“No, that’s not how it works!” Five yelled after her. We watched as she drove away, turning back to the hole in the building. Luther was looking at us and flipped us off with one hand. I reciprocated the gesture with both as Five mumbled something about un-adoption.

We walked back to Elliott’s where Diego was finally awake.

“Where’s Vanya?” He asked, seeing just the two of us.

“She left after Luther and his big mouth told her that she’s the reason the world ended.” I told him. The woman started to redress his wound.

“So what, you just let her go?” He asked.

“Well, Vanya had a lot to process.” Five admitted. “She’ll come around. I know she will.”

“What about the guys that went after her?” Diego asked, watching Five pace.

“The Swedes?” Five asked. Elliott came from the kitchen, balancing four cups of coffee, setting them on the table with a nervous look at us.

“Yeah, I mean, how do you know they won’t go after her again?”

“We don’t.” Five admitted.

“Mm, any ideas who sent them?” The British woman asked.

“Oh, I have my suspicions.” Five have her a grim smile. “But right now, our priority is finding Dad and getting answers, cause everything else depends on it.” Five sat next to me.

“Which, for the record, I found him already.” Diego said.

“And then got stabbed.” I gestured to his stomach with my cup.

“And then let him go before we could have a meaningful conversation.” Five added.

“He stabbed me.” Diego defended.

“I’m surprised he waited this long, Diego. We’ve all had the urge.” Five said, looking over at me for backup. I clinked my mug to his in an act of younger sibling solidarity. The woman laughed, and Elliott joined in nervously.

“Good one.” The woman held out a hand for a high-five. I leaned as far back as my seat would allow, and Five continued on.

“Good thing I know where Dad’s gonna be tonight.” He pulled out a folded invite and handed it to Diego.

“Where’d you get this?” Diego asked.

“Found it at his office while he was busy stabbing you.” Five said. Diego laughed sarcastically and unfolded it.

“Hoyt Hillenkoetter and the Consulate General of Mexico in Dallas cordially invite you to a gala.” Diego read aloud.

“Wait, Hoyt Hillenkoetter?” Elliott asked. “Are you serious?”

“You know him?” Five asked.

The woman gasped, reading over Diego’s shoulder. “We should go. Says there’s gonna be a seafood tower.”

“No, Hillenkoetter is… is one of the Majestic Twelve.” Elliott explained.

“The hell is a Majestic Twelve?” Diego asked.

“What?” Elliott was at a loss for words at this apparently obvious thing. “It’s a—a secret committee. Uh, scientists, military, uh, deep state. No one knows what they really do.” He started to rummage around at his desk.

“Wait, so they’re government?” I clarified.

“Shadow government. Yeah, Kennedy was the first president to try to push ‘em into the light, but these guys are not to be trifled with. Oh...” Elliott pulled a paper out from the middle of an unsteady stack on one of the radios. “Ah, right here.” He placed the paper on the coffee table in front of us. It was an old black and white photograph of a group of men situated at a large conference table. They were all older, wearing suits, and staring at the camera. I did a mental count.

“I only count eleven.” I said.

“Well, that’s because they’ve only identified eleven so far.” Elliott told us.

“Who’s the twelfth?” Diego asked unnecessarily. The three of us looked at each other, and I had a sinking feeling in my gut that we knew exactly who number twelve was.

~

And that was how I found myself sneaking across a low stone wall into the parking lot of the Mexican Consulate. Diego led, the woman followed, and Five and I were in back. The four of us crouched behind a car, waiting for the valet to move.

“So, what’s the plan?” The woman asked.

“We infiltrate, we identify, we extract. Double time.” Diego whispered to us. Five and I nodded in agreement. The woman looked back at Five and me.

“What the hell’s he talking about?” She asked.

“Find the old man and get out fast.” Five translated.

“That’s what I said.” Diego said. “On me.” “He crouch-ran to the car parked behind the one we were hiding against.

“After you.” The woman nodded at Five.

“No, we insist.” I nodded for her to follow Diego. The woman scoffed.

“What, I can’t be polite?”

“Cut the crap.” Five hissed. “All right? Our dimwitted brother might buy your bullshit, but we don’t trust you for a second.”

“Oh ye of little faith.” She smiled.

“Stick it up your ass.” Five responded. The woman scoffed and followed behind Diego. We continued to hide behind cars, getting closer to the front door of the consulate. We slipped in a side door, not noticed by the important and wealthy at the gala. I grabbed a flute and we discretely searched around the room for Dad.

“I don’t see Dad anywhere.” Diego announced after a full four seconds of searching.

“Just keep an eye out for the Majestic Twelve. We’ve got the upstairs.” Five said. I paused for a second.

“Diego, try not to do anything too stupid.” I advised before following Five up the stairs. As we climbed up the stairs, a line of men resembling the ones in the picture turned a corner and went out of sight. Five and I snuck after them. Halfway down the hallway, Five stopped.

“Stay here.” He told me, disappearing in a blue flash.

“Ugh.” I scoffed. “Tiny bastard child. Can’t leave me like that. Who the hell does he thinks he is?” I heard someone coming up the stairs, and I ducked into a doorway. It was a blond man in a waiter’s outfit, but I had a bad feeling he wasn’t a waiter. Five reappeared a few seconds later.

“Five.” I called out, and he turned in just enough time to get picked up by his jacket and smacked into a wall. He disappeared before hitting it a second time and appeared behind the man, kicking him in the back of the leg. The waiter fell to his knees and Five tried to snap his neck, but the man resisted. The man tossed Five over his head, and he landed with a small thud. Diego came thundering up the main staircase right as another blond man in a waiter’s outfit came out. The waiter grabbed Diego and pulled a wire across his neck, slowly choking him. I shifted into a wolverine as a third blond man in a waiter’s outfit came from around Diego and punched him right in the gut. The metal on his knuckles sparkled as he pulled back for another punch.

I ran and leaped on the man as he prepared for a third punch, pulling at his collar. I dug in with my nails and bit the back of the man’s neck. He cried out in pain and slammed his back into a wall, squishing me. I let go in shock, sliding to the ground. After regaining my senses, I jumped again, catching the man’s hand as he went once again to attack Diego. I bit down as hard as I could, wrapping my front and back paws around the man’s arm and digging in.

“Lila!” Diego tried to yell. I turned to see what he was looking at, and in that half second, the man punched me with his free hand. My head spun, and I saw the British woman—well, two of her, as she debated on which fight to take. Five was across the hall getting tossed about, too tired to use his powers. And that's the fight she chose.

“Lila!” Diego choked out again. I wasn’t able to see what she was doing, but I heard the sound of breaking glass, so I hoped it was going well. The man tried to shake me off, and I let go, going for his upper thigh instead. He screamed, once again hitting me against the wall. Diego was actually beating his guy now, taking the element of surprise as the man watched what was happening with Five. My waiter swung at me, and I ducked, but it was a little too slow, the blow of metal hitting me in the temple. I shifted back to human with the hit, and I scrambled up to my feet.

I grabbed my now discarded shoe and hit the man in the stomach with the heel. He keeled over and started to cough. Diego had finished with his man, the waiter unconscious on the floor, and was about to cut in.

“No. I’ve got this.” I said, not taking my eyes off the man. I dropped the shoe and picked up a candelabrum from a now broken table. Holding it like a bat, I swung at the man’s head, dropping the bloodstained candelabrum and the bloodstained man on the ground. I stared at the man’s unconscious form for a second, before starting to gag, spitting up blood on the carpet.

“Shit, Danny!” Diego came over. I waved him off, spitting the last of it on the ground and wiping my chin.

“Don’t worry. It’s not mine.” I picked up my shoes.

“Jesus.” Diego gave a small laugh before seeing something out the window. “Shit. Dad.” We hurried downstairs, trying to act like we didn’t just crash the place. We came running around the consulate, catching up with Lila as we approached the front lot. Five was standing at the edge of the lot, watching a black limo pull away.

“Was that him?” Diego asked.

“Yeah.” Five sighed.


	16. Season II, Episode V

The last of the party-goers got in their cars and drove away, the only people left being the police and those hired for the gala.

“You know, I’m starting to get the feeling Dad’s avoiding us.” Five commented.

“Hate to be the boring one guys,” Lila sighed. “But, uh, it’s time we get the hell out of here.” She went to leave.

“When you say ‘we’, who exactly are you referring to?” Five asked.

“Not a lot of ambiguity in that sentence.” Lila responded, blowing it off like it was a joke.

“Listen, I don’t know who you are or where you came from, but whatever it is, I’d advise you return posthaste.”

“She’s right Five. We gotta get out of here.” Diego said quietly.

“I just saved your life, you kinder-shit.” Lila bit. Under any other circumstances, it would have been funny. “If I hadn’t stepped in, all that would be left of you is a blazer and some bloody socks.”

“And that’s the problem.” Five said calmly. “You’re too good. You ask too many questions. You know too much. And you fight like you know what you’re doing.” I nodded along.

“He’s got a point.” Diego conceded.

“So I know how to handle myself, and that makes me the bad guy?” She gave a snort of laughter at the absurdity of it.

“Yes.” I muttered, watching as the cops investigated the grounds.

“Whoever you are, you’re in my way. If I see you again, I will kill you.” Five threatened. He walked away through the parking lot. I looked back at Diego, and ran to catch up with Five. We were at the end of the lot before Diego came jogging up.

“Finally.” I grumbled.

“Yeah, yeah. Shut up.” He responded lightly. We walked the block and half back to the car and drove back to Elliott’s in silence. Elliott met us at the entrance to his apartment.

“Uh, do you have another alien brother you forgot to mention?” He asked nervously, glancing back at one of the bedrooms. “It’s no problem, but some big guy came and—“

“Luther.” I grumbled. “Yeah, he’s one of us.” Elliott breathed a sigh of relief. He bid us goodnight, and then went to his room. Five disappeared, and it was just Diego and me.

“Sorry about you’re crazy, homicidal girlfriend.” I said, getting an icepack from the freezer and resting it on my temple. I went and lay down on the couch.

“Yeah, but that’s what you get when you meet in an asylum.” He gave a light chuckle, sitting across from me.

“Was it bad?” I asked softly.

“Not all bad. Didn’t have to pay rent, consistent meals. The cavity searches weren’t ideal, but hey, free drugs.” He responded lightly.

“So like prison basically.” I looked at him.

“Nicer rooms and—wait. Have you been in prison since we’ve been here?” He leaned forward.

“Diego, we’re talking about you and your poor life choices right now, not mine.” I tossed the icepack at him.

“Well how the hell would you cope, knowing a pivotal part of history was only a few months away?” He defended.

“By keeping my damn mouth shut and my head down.” I laughed. “It wasn’t all bad. Met some really cool people, and I got to start over. Sides, how many people back home can say that they’ve learned about Kennedy’s death, and then saw him speaking, alive, on TV?”

“I guess.” Diego yawned. I pulled my duffel bag out of the closet and went to the bedroom.

“Where are you going?” Diego asked before I could open the door.

“Uh, bed. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a long day, and knowing what’s coming up, tomorrow is gonna be hell too.” I responded, confused.

“No, I’m not sleeping on this freaking couch. Not again.”

“The last time you ‘slept’ on that couch, you were unconscious. So it doesn’t count.” I responded. Before I could turn the knob, Diego was there, pulling the door closed again.

“This is my room. Luther took mine, so I’m taking this one.” He said.

“If Luther took your room, just go kick him out. He can sleep on the damn sofa.” I hissed.

“He’d break it. Besides, can’t you just curl up on the chair or sleep on a pile of blankets? It’s the same as a cat bed.” Diego responded, equally heated. I released the doorknob.

“Fine. You know what? We’ll rock-paper-scissors for it. Would that make you happy?” I held out my fist. He did as well.

“Full count.” I said.

“Rock.”

“Paper.”

“Scissors.”

“Shoot!”

“What the hell is that?” Diego asked, holding out the sign for paper.

“Claw. Claw beats paper. It’s like scissors, but it can also beat rock. And scissors.” I said.

“That’s not fair.” Diego cried quietly. “You cheated.”

“Don’t be a sore loser, Diego. I’m sure the couch is plenty comfortable.” I laughed, going into my room.

~

The slightest sound woke me up, and I quickly shifted back to human. I got dressed and snuck out of my room, towards the sound.

“You making eggs?” I asked. Luther jumped and spun around.

“Jesus Danny. How did you kn—“ I raised an eyebrow and he stopped. “Of course. Of course you knew. Yes. Do you want some?” He asked, gesturing towards the skillet.

“Not really. I just wanted to scare you a little.” I grabbed some coffee and sat on the table.

“You know, that’s one thing about you I haven’t missed.” He pointed at me with a spatula. I smiled smugly at him.

“I didn’t know we were making lists. If so—“

“Shut up.” Diego groaned from the living room. “You’re too loud.” He looked at Luther specifically. “And some of that better be for me.” He pointed at the eggs as he closed the bathroom door.

“What’s his deal?” Luther asked, poking the eggs with the spatula.

“It’s, well it’s been a rough couple of days.” I explained, getting more coffee. Five zapped into the room, and I poured him a cup as well.

“Any news from our murderous friends?” I asked him.

“Nothing. Probably recuperating. Or they’re not after me. Did you have any problems with them?” Five asked.

“Not until last night.” I said. Diego emerged, looking more human.

“What’s going on?” He asked.

“No news from the assassins. And Five and I hadn’t had any problems with them before last night.” I explained.

“No, no, no. I don’t understand. They keep following me.” Diego started to pace.

“Wait, who?” Luther asked, clearly not having paid attention to the conversation up to that point.

“Those Dutch sociopaths.” Diego said.

“They’re Swedish, you idiot.” Five scoffed. “Hired guns paid to eradicate us before we do any more damage to this timeline.”

“Yeah, but why now? I mean I’m,” Diego snapped his fingers. “Fine for three months until you showed up.”

“Yeah, I was here for a year and no one messed with me.” Luther added, for once agreeing with Diego. Luther looked at me.

“I had enough problems. I probably wouldn’t have noticed. But I don’t think they bothered with me.” I agreed.

“Even if it was my fault, which it isn’t, we only have six days before the end of the world, and the closest anyone’s gotten to Dad was that driveway at the consulate.”

“Well,” Luther admitted, staring ahead. “That’s not exactly true.” We all turned together to look at him.

“What do you mean?” Five asked.

“After I landed, before I started boxing, I, well, I went home. Well, where the academy will be in twenty-five years. And I talked to him. I told him that I was his son.” Luther dumped the eggs on a plate and sat at the table, the chair creaking slightly under him.

“And?” I pressed.

“I told him that we traveled back in time, and that we needed his help. But, uh, he didn’t believe me.” Luther muttered, starting to eat.

“That’s pathetic.” Diego commented.

“At least he didn’t shank my ass.” Luther responded.

“No bro, he shanked your heart.” Diego told him. I gave a snort of laughter, but quickly covered it up. Elliott came out into the kitchen doorway.

“Is that my bathrobe?” He asked Luther. Luther looked down at the bathrobe he was wearing, and then back to Elliott.

“No.” He lied.

“Look, who cares what he shanked?” Five asked. “He knows something about time travel.”

“Uh,” Elliott started. “Wait, why don’t you just do your thing and, uh, time travel us out?” He asked. Us?

“Anyone care to explain?” Five asked, getting up to get more coffee.

“First time he tried, he got lost in the apocalypse.” Luther said.

“Second time, he ended up without hair on his balls.” Diego added.

“And the third time—“ I started.

“I scattered my family across three years in Dallas, Texas, possibly triggering a doomsday. Any more questions, Elliott?” Five finished. Elliott shook his head.

“You’re missing the big picture.” Diego interrupted. “Dad is the ringleader of a sinister cabal that’s planning to kill the president.”

“A cabal?” Luther asked.

“Don’t start.” I groaned.

“Ignore him. Look, the way I see it, we only have one option.” Five said.

“Oh yeah, what’s that?” Luther asked.

“It’s time to get the umbrella academy together.” Five told us.

“Hell yeah, family meeting.” Diego nodded, on board.

“Okay then, can one of you get Allison, please?” Luther gestured at Diego and me with his fork.

“You too still a thing?” Diego asked. Luther didn’t say anything, and Diego leaned forward. “Do we need to talk?”

“No, she’s married.”

“Not to you, right?” I double-checked.

“No.” Luther sent a glare my way.

“Whoa. Dude, that’s rough.” Diego commiserated.

“I can handle it.” Luther gave a small laugh.

“I’ll get her.” Five said. “Can you get Vanya without, uh, squeezing her to death?” He asked Luther.

“I’ll try.” Luther said around a mouthful of food. Five disappeared.

“Wait,” Elliott cried as Five left. “Uh… what should I do?” He asked us.

“Prepare for company.” Diego smiled.

~

Diego, Vanya, Luther and I were seated in the living room, Elliott explaining the wonders of gelatin to us.

“Y’all know, Jell-O used to be a delicacy. You know, in order to make it, you gotta boil down a whole mess of hooves…you know horses, cows, pigs, it doesn’t matter. But not everybody has a mess of hooves just lying around.” The only thing keeping me awake was watching Diego assembling and disassembling a hand gun as Elliott droned about the wonder that was Jell-O.

“If we have some, will you shut up?” Diego finally asked.

“Maybe. Here.” Elliott dumped a spoonful into a glass tumbler. Luther made a horrified face as Elliott added another scoop of the marshmallow mess.

“How are you feeling?” Luther asked Vanya.

“Pretty shitty, to be honest.” She admitted, slumped on the sofa next to him.

“Where would you say you are on a scale from one to…” Diego thought for a moment. “To ending all life on this planet?” He flipped a knife idly in his hand.

“Jesus.” I lightly slapped his arm.

“Really?” Vanya asked him.

“Diego, put the knife away, you idiot. She’s fine.” Luther loudly whispered across the coffee table to Diego.

“The last time I saw this one, she had me suspended midair, sucking the life out of me with energy tentacles. I think I’m allowed a little time to process.”

“And here we are, the rest of us having let it go.” I grumbled as Elliott said something about loving to see energy tentacles.

“I don’t remember what I did, but I’m sorry.” Vanya apologized. “If it means anything.” Diego paused.

“It does actually.” He said quietly. “Just going through a lot right now. There’s this, girl that I like.” I groaned, sliding lower in the chair. Luther rolled his eyes. We had all seen his most current sad love story.

“I thought she liked me, but turns out that she’s—“ The door opened, saving me the trouble of stabbing Diego before he could tell his boring ass story again. Allison’s laugh rang through the store front.

“Oh, thank god!” Luther breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Is anyone here?” Allison’s voice wafted up to us. The four of us got up in unison, going over to the balcony as Klaus and Allison talked.

“Oh, wow.” Klaus said, looking up at us. “I know this is impossible, but… did we all get sexier?” Klaus asked. Allison was staring straight at Vanya, not even blinking.

“Vanya.” She said quietly.

“I can’t believe I have another sister.” She gave a light laugh from next to me. We all slowly came down to meet them. I pushed in front of Diego and Luther, tightly hugging Klaus before pulling away almost immediately.

“Dude,” I nearly gagged. “You’re plastered.”

“That’s not important Danny.” Klaus brushed off my concern. Allison and Vanya were hugging like a murder between the two of them hadn’t almost happened five months ago. Diego pushed me aside, grabbing Klaus by the back of the neck affectionately.

“Oh, you are drunk.” He gave a small laugh.

“Yeah. No, just a little… just a few…” Klaus mumbled. We all stopped and watched Allison and Vanya, as they were still hugging.

“Oh, that’s so sweet.” Klaus said, going over and joining the hug. “Hey Vanny.” He kissed the top of her head.

“Klaus. Is Ben here?” Five asked, having enough of our foolish sentiment.

“Oh, uh… no.” Klaus said, breaking away from the hug. “No, unfortunately, ghosts can’t time travel.” He looked over his shoulder, I was assuming at Ben.

“All right, then. Let’s get down to business.” Five led the way up the stairs.

“Why are you always lying about Ben like that?” I muttered as Klaus passed me. He stuck out his tongue, and followed Vanya up the stairs.

“Hey Diego.” Allison called from one of the staircases. “Can’t say hi to nobody?”

“Hi Allison.” He grumbled, starting up the stairs.

“What was that?” She called out.

“Hi, Allison!” He yelled, waving an arm.

“Thank you!” She yelled back. I trotted up after her.

“He’s having girl troubles with the girlfriend he’s had, maybe a week total.” I whispered. She laughed, squeezing my hand.

“That doesn’t surprise me at all. I missed you Danny.” She told me. I squeezed back, letting go as we went and sat in the living room. Five waited for us all to get seated before starting.

“All right, first off, I want to say I’m sorry. I really screwed the pooch on this going-back-in-time-and-getting-stuck thing. But the real kick in the pants here is we brought the end of the world back here with us.”

“Oh my god! Again?” Klaus asked, coming out of Elliott’s kitchen with a bottle of vodka. None of the rest of us were as surprised. Klaus picked up on this.

“All of you knew?” He sighed. “Why am I always the last one to find out about the end of the—“ He stopped. “Oh my god. My cult is gonna be so pissed. Five! I told them we had until 2019.”

“We have until Monday.” Five said, having none of Klaus’s nonsense. “We have six days.”

“Is it Vanya?” Klaus asked, taking a drink.

“Klaus.” Allison said.

“What? It’s usually Vanya.” He defended.

“Do you have any leads, Five?” Vanya asked, getting us back on topic. Diego held out a manila folder, and Five took it, passing it to Allison. She opened it, and then looked at Five.

“Holy shit, is that Dad?” She asked, looking back at the picture for confirmation.

“Yeah.” Diego said.

“That’s him?” Vanya scooted closer to see the picture. Klaus leaned over the back of the couch as well to look.

“Standing on the grassy knoll.” He confirmed.

“Diego, Danny, and I have been trying to talk to Dad about what exactly this means. So far, we’ve got nothing.” Five said.

“Not nothing.” Diego qualified. “He’s planning to kill Kennedy.”

“We don’t know that.” I said, exasperated at the same conversation I’d had with him for two days.

“But we don’t know who, or what sets doomsday in motion.” Five continued. “Could be Kennedy, could be something entirely independent. But if we know something changes the timeline, we have to make it right.” 

“Yeah, but how if we don’t know what’s broken?” Allison raised a good question.

“Oh, come on Allison.” Diego scoffed. “We know Dad’s having shady-ass meetings with some shady-ass people. We know he’s on the grassy knoll in the three days to kill the president. So I think we all know what we have to do.” He got up and stood near Five.

“Find Dad.”

“Kill Dad.” Five and Diego said at the same time. We all stopped and stared at Diego for a moment. Allison took a swig of Klaus’s vodka and then passed it to me.

“None of us are supposed to be here, right?” Vanya asked. “I mean, what if it’s us? Has anyone here done anything to screw up the timeline?” We all looked at each other.

“Diego’s been stalking Lee Harvey Oswald.” Luther started.

“And you’re working for Jack Ruby.” Diego fired back.

“Allison has been very involved in local politics.” Klaus piped up.

“Okay, you started a cult.” Allison responded. Klaus growled and hissed at her.

“I’m… I’m just a… nanny on a farm.” Vanya defended herself. “I don’t have anything to do with all that.”

“Well maybe you do, we just don’t know it yet.” Allison told her. I took another drink of Klaus’s vodka. I love family togetherness. Diego whistled sharply. We stopped talking.

“Listen to yourselves. Everything in our new lives is connected to Kennedy. That can’t be a coincidence.” Diego raised a valid point. “Luther works for Ruby, Allison and Danny are protesting the government, Dad is on the grassy knoll, Klaus is…” He stopped and looked at Klaus. “Doing something weird and pervy, but probably related. See, clearly we were all sent back here for one special reason: saving John Fitzgerald Kennedy.”

“How do you know we’re not supposed to kill Kennedy, huh?” I asked Diego as we all started to argue.

“That’s crazy. Why would we do that?” He argued.

“There wasn’t an apocalypse for over fifty years after Kennedy died. What if Dad’s there to kill Oswald and we’ve got to stop him? Bet you didn’t think of that.”

“That’s not true. You’re insane.”

“I wasn’t the one in a loony bin, was I? Maybe you pushed Oswald . You’re stalking man who hasn’t done the crime yet. You’re driving the man to murder, Diego. ” I replied.

“This is bigger than all of us.” Diego responded. I went to argue back, but Five spoke, stopping us.

“You all die.” He said. The arguing immediately stopped. “I was there. I saw it. And I wanna forget it, but I can’t.” He paused for a second, his eyes a hundred miles away. “I saw Russian nukes vaporize the world with all of you in it… in a war that never happened until we brought it here. And Hazel gave his life to save us, so you may need to shut up and just listen to me. I don’t know if the things we’ve experienced here are all connected. I don’t know if there’s a reason for everything.” He looked at each of us in turn. “But Dad will. We need to talk to him before everyone and everything we know is dead.”

“Okay, I’m out.” Luther sighed, standing up.

“Did you even hear me, Luther?” Five turned to him.

“Yeah, I did. I heard a fifty-eight year old man who still wants his daddy to come and fix everything. Well, you can count me out. It’s time we grew the hell up.” Luther said. Klaus, Vanya, Allison, and I told him not to go, to stay, but he went down the stairs, Diego close behind. Five watched as they descended the stairs, and disappeared in a blue light.

“No one leaves until we figure this out.” I heard him growl at Luther. Then I heard Five’s portal open again, two pairs of footsteps continue down the stairs, and then leave. Klaus picked up Diego’s discarded Jell-O goblet and started eating.

“Klaus, don’t eat that. That’s disgusting.” I said.

“Huh, cause I very clearly remember you eating old taco meat out of an old coffee filter once behind the academy. Or am I thinking of someone else?” He thought for a moment. “You know, I could really go for some tacos right now. Danny, I know you’re down. Allison? Tacos?”

“Shouldn’t we wait?” She asked, pointing towards the staircase.

“Not a chance.” I said.

“You know those guys.” Klaus added. “I mean, it could take forever for them to bro it out. Vanya, tacos?”

“Is there any way that tacos are gonna cause the end of the world?” She asked. Klaus scoffed.

“I mean, there’s only one way to find out.” He snapped his fingers.

“Sure is.” Allison agreed.

“Let’s go!”

~

“Why are we here?” I asked as we arrived at a hair salon in South Dallas. Allison pulled a key out of her bag and unlocked the door. She led us in and turned on the lights.

“Cause I’m not staying in that apartment and I can’t go home right now.” Allison said. I sat down in the salon chair next to Klaus, pulling a bottle of champagne from the salon table.

“Can I?” I asked.

“Sure.” Allison shrugged. I tore off the wrapper and pulled at the cork with my teeth.

“Danny, that is amazing. I’m going to take you everywhere with me to be my corkscrew because I love you.” Klaus said, holding out his arm. I handed the bottle to him.

“What’s going on with your husband?” I asked, spitting the cork into my hand. Allison growled softly, already heated.

“So we were at the sit-in at that restaurant. The police show up, and start beating the shit out of him. And I had the nerve to save my husband.” She gave a mirthless laugh.

“That isn’t bad. Why is he mad?” Vanya asked, spinning in the chair across from me.

“Did you Rumor the cop?” I asked. Klaus handed back the half-empty bottle of champagne.

“I had to! He was gonna kill Raymond.” She sighed angrily. “And he saw, and now it’s a shit-show. The nerve of that man. I mean, one thing goes wrong, and he’s on a warpath. I mean, doesn’t know who I am? No, no. No, Ray, you know _exactly_ who I am. _You_ just can’t handle it. I’m protecting you.” She ranted.

“From what?” Klaus asked.

“The end of the world, for one.” She said.

“Is the world really gonna end in six days?” Vanya asked. Klaus, Allison, and I were quiet.

“Well, it did last time, and we did everything Five could think of to stop it.” Allison spoke up, messing with Klaus’s hair.

“Hey,” Klaus stood up. “Wouldn’t it be weird if Five grew up all hot?” He asked out of the blue.

“What?” Vanya asked.

“Eww.” Allison agreed. I shuddered just at the thought.

“Oh! Eww, eww!” Klaus mocked Allison. “Please, Miss ‘Luther was my lover.’” He made a kissing sound.

“We never even kissed.” Allison defended.

“Yeah, but you guys were making little sick moon-dog eyes at each other all through puberty and breakfast and all that.” Klaus said, taking a drink out of his flask.

“Aren’t we all brothers and sisters, or...?” Vanya trailed off. Klaus snorted.

“Well…. Technically, it—“ Allison started.

“Technically? If you have to use the word ‘technically’, you’re already in trouble.” Klaus laughed.

“Technically it’s not incest, but it sure as shit ain’t right.” I agreed, giggling with Klaus and Vanya.

“Okay, can… can we focus?” Allison called out. “I mean, clearly we’re not saving the world tonight, but maybe, maybe, we could at least try to save my marriage.”

“No!” Klaus cried out as he was pouring champagne into his flask, spilling some on me. “No, because that’s like, that’s like asking a nun how to hump someone’s leg. I mean, who in this room knows shit about relationships? This one?” He pointed at Vanya. “In secret love with some farm Frau.”

“Her name’s Sissy.” Vanya defended.

“Which is an improvement on her previous love interest, the serial killer.” Klaus continued. I snorted with laughter.

“What?” Vanya asked. Allison mouthed ‘later’ at her.

“This one right here,” Klaus pointed at me. “Has never been in a serious relationship, but loves, _loves,_ to pass judgment on those of us who have. So many opinions for someone who has no knowledge of how to back it up. Meanwhile, I’m carrying a torch… for a soldier I haven’t technically met yet, and Luther is in love with his sister.”

“Okay, _again,_ we are not biological.” Allison defended.

“Face it, the healthiest long-term relationship in this family was when Five was banging that mannequin. The only thing the Umbrella Academy knows about love….” He raised his flask in the air. “Is how to screw it up.”

“Cheers.” We all cried, taking a drink.

“How do you guys deal with this?” Vanya asked.

“What?” I asked, finishing off the champagne.

“I mean all of it. The time travel, seeing the dead, the end of the world.”

“Well I get really high.” Klaus sat down and lit another cigarette. “Danny, dear Danny here drinks and runs from all her problems.” I held up the empty bottle, agreeing with him. “And Allison… Allison,” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “She lies to herself.” Allison kicked a rolling stool at him.

“And you suppress all your emotions deep, deep down until you… you blow shit up.” He told Vanya.

“Yeah, I’d really like to not do that anymore.” She said.

“Well, you’ve got six days, missy.” He responded.

“What the hell are we supposed to do with six days?” Allison asked.

“Party?” Klaus suggested.

“I don’t know.” Allison scoffed.

“I’m gonna tell Sissy that I love her.” Vanya declared. I drew in a sharp breath, and Klaus’s eyes widened. “I don’t want any secrets.” She explained.

“Yeah.” Klaus agreed.

“Hell yeah.” I added.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right.” Allison stood. “Yes, cause you know, if… if it’s all gonna go tits-up, the least I could do is be honest with my husband.”

“Oh… does that mean I have to face my cult?” Klaus asked. “I just hate group breakups. It’s why I stopped dating twins. Hey, Danny?” He asked me.

“No. I’m not breaking up with them for you. No more sending me in to break up for you.” I replied. “Three times was enough.”

“This family’s amazing.” Vanya threw her arms out wide.

“Yeah, sure.” Klaus laughed.

“Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Allison laughed. A Sam Cooke song began to play on the radio.

“Oh, I love this song!” Allison turned the radio up as loud as it could go. For once in four months, I wasn’t worried about what was going on.


	17. Season II. Episode VI

“Diego, this is a setup.” Luther said, looking down at the invitation.

“Maybe, but we should go anyways.” Diego said pacing.

“Says the guy who’s already been stabbed once this week.” I added, taking the invite off the coffee table and looking at it.

“Oh, don’t worry. Me and him are gonna have words.” Diego promised. I didn’t buy it.

“Would you tell him that he’s nuts?” Luther asked Vanya.

“I think we should go.” Vanya said.

“See?” Diego gloated.

“Vanya, of all people, you should hate him the most.” Luther told her.

“Come on, can he really that bad?” Vanya asked. Luther, Diego and I looked at each other, not wanting to be the one to tell her.

“Okay, well, let’s see. He isolated you from the rest of the family.” I started.

“Kept you hopped up on pills.” Diego added softly.

“And he brainwashed you into thinking you had no powers.” Luther finished.

“Jesus, this guy...” Vanya mused quietly. “I mean, come on, I _have_ to meet him.” Diego sent Luther and me an ‘I told you so’ smirk.

“Come on. You know how this is gonna go.” Luther argued. “Dad is gonna play all his little mind games on us, get into our heads, and he’s gonna turn us all against each other. You watch.”

“Luther, we’re not twelve anymore.” Diego said. “We’re grown ass men and women.” Luther sighed, realizing that he was gonna have to go and see Dad.

“Hey,” Diego said softly. “Hey. We can handle him. You wanna know what’s different this time?”

“Oh, yeah, what’s that?” Luther scoffed.

“You’ve got me. We come in as a united front. No more ‘Number One’, ‘Number Two’ bullshit.” Diego sat down on the coffee table in front of Luther. “From now on, it’s… Team Zero.”

“Team Zero?” I gave a snort of laughter at the name.

“Team Zero.” “Diego confirmed. “All the way.” He held out his fists for a fist bump, but none of us reciprocated.

“Can we work on the name at least?” I asked.

“Fine.” He conceded. “We can workshop it a little if you can think of anything better, which will be—“

“Almost impossible not to do.” I fist bumped Diego. “But fine, Team Zero.” I picked up the invitation, rereading it again.

“But how did he know who you were and where to find you?” I asked. “He doesn’t even know your full name.” I put the envelope down.

“This is the same man who found all of us as babies. He knew that Diego and I were here. I bet that there’s a letter just like this waiting for you wherever you’re staying.” Luther responded.

“But I—“ I stopped. “And we have to go to this?” I asked Diego.

“It’ll give us answers. The answers that might help us save the world.” He responded. I thought about it for a second.

“Can I slap him? Just once?” I asked. Luther turned to me, confused. “Come on. I’ve wanted to for, let’s see, oh, sixteen years.”

“No, you can’t hit our father Danny. Jesus.” Luther scolded. “He hasn’t even done any of the stuff that you’re mad at him for. Remember, this isn’t the same man who raised us, not yet.”

“Then I might be busy this evening.” I gave Luther a grim smile. I got up to leave.

“Danny, wait.” Diego stopped me at the top of the stairs. “If you come tonight, right before we leave, you can hit him. But only after he gives us the answers we need. Okay? We need all of Team Zero to stand up to the bastard.” I continued down the stairs as he talked.

“Danny? You’re going tonight, right?” Diego called out.

“Probably.” I yelled back, leaving Elliott’s store. I decided to walk home, needing the time to think. What would I say to the man who locked up my sister, lied to all of us, and manipulated us even after his death, the man who I had nothing but contempt for?

“Hey, it’s me.” I called out as I unlocked the front door.

“Danielle?” Thomas’s voice wafted from the kitchen.

“Yeah. Sorry I haven’t called or—“ Violet came rushing out of the kitchen, still holding a spatula in her hand. She hugged me tightly and then smacked me on the back of the head. 

“Where the hell have you been? You don’t call, and you don’t show for two days, and now it’s just ‘hey, it’s me’.” Violet scolded.

“I’m sorry Vi. I didn’t mean to worry you. It’s—It’s just been a crazy few days.” I explained as she hugged me again. A set of thundering footsteps came down the stairs.

“Danny.” Jesse gave me a hug as well. “Oh, hey. Actually, hold on.” He went to the desk and rifled through a stack of papers. “Here, this came for you this morning.” He handed me a plain envelope with a broken gold seal.

“Why is it open?” I asked Jesse. He looked away like he didn’t know who I was talking to. “Jesse,” I pressed. “Are you opening other people’s mail now?”

“It wasn’t addressed.” Jesse defended.

“No one send you letters Jesse.” Rosemary added, walking in the room.

“Thank you.” I told her. I already knew what was written on the letter, but I read it anyways. It was exactly the same as Luther’s letter.

“Isn’t your last name Hargreeves?” Rosemary read the letter over my shoulder. I folded it and tucked it in my pocket.

“It’s a very common white name.” I responded.

“Is it a family member?” Violet asked as I sat down at the table.

“I don’t know.” I lied. “He apparently has some family answers, but I’m not sure I trust him.” The second part was a little more truthful. “I found the rest of my family, but he has answers that could get us back home.”

“That’s great that you found them honey.” Violet sat next to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

“But does that mean you’re gonna leave?” Jesse asked.

“I don’t know. Depends on what he says and what happens.” I said, pulling out the invitation and staring at it again.

“What does it mean by ‘pursuers’?” Rosemary sat down as well.

“Are you stalking someone Danny?” Thomas stuck his head out of the kitchen and into our conversation.

“Yup.”

“That’s my girl.” He disappeared to finish cooking.

“Is anyone else going to this? I don’t like the idea of you going in alone.” Violet said, concerned.

“Yeah, Luther and Diego got an invite, and I’m pretty sure everyone else did too. It’s best to go in as a united front anyways.” I answered. “Klaus probably won’t show up, but Vanya said she would.”

“Is Vanya the girl from the other day in the car with the little white boy?” Violet asked, still uneasy about Five.

“Yeah. That’s Five and Vanya.” I responded.

“I don’t trust that kid. He looks shifty. Like he’s up to something.” Violet continued, more to herself than to us.

“He is.” I laughed, checking my watch. “Hey, I gotta go. I’ll probably be back tonight, but I’ll call you for sure if I’m not.” Violet, Rosemary, Jesse, and Thomas stood in the doorway as I walked down the sidewalk.

“Be safe honey. We love you.” Violet called out. That stopped me in my tracks. I hadn’t heard that phrase in years. I turned back to them.

“I love you too. See you later.” I called out truthfully.

~

I was perched in a tree outside the Southland Life building, waiting. Five appeared through a space portal at the end of the sidewalk and paused as he approached the entrance.

“Finally.” I shifted and jumped down to the pavement.

“Jesus Danny. You could have scared someone.” Five said, slightly flustered. “What are you doing out here?”

“I wasn’t gonna go in without backup.” I told him as we walked through the lobby towards the elevator.

“Coward.”

“Yup.” I confirmed, pressing the up button. The elevator dinged and we got inside. Five pressed the button for the top level and the doors began to close. Looked like it would be just the two of us against the old man. A hand shot out and stopped the doors from closing completely.

“Wait up.” Diego said, coming in. Heels echoed across the lobby as Allison trotted to the elevator.

“Hold it.” She said, getting in as well. Klaus and Vanya followed right after her.

“Hey everyone.” Klaus said, flask in hand as he moved to the back of the elevator. It was getting plenty cramped.

“Excuse me.” Luther wedged right in front of Klaus and me.

“Good. We’re all here.” Five sighed as the doors closed for real. It was quiet for a few floors, and then Luther let out the quietest grunt.

“What was that?” I asked.

“What?” Klaus asked. It took a second for the smell to hit. It smelled like death. I covered my nose with my jacket sleeve.

“Oof.” Five and Vanya said in unison, doing the same.

“Luther.” Klaus groaned, fanning the air in front of him.

“Oh my god.” I muttered into my jacket.

“Sorry, I’m nervous.” Luther admitted. Thankfully, the doors opened and we all spilled out, muttering about the stench. The Tiki Lounge stood in front of us and we stood in front of the center table.

“All right, when Dad gets here, I’ll do the talking, okay?” Five announced.

“I’ve got a few questions for him myself.” Diego said.

“Hey, we don’t wanna scare him off.” Five responded. Klaus drifted towards the bar. “He might be able to help us stop doomsday, get us home.

“Get me something. I’ll need it.” I told him. He gave me a finger gun as a reply. I wasn’t too sure if that was a yes or a no.

“No, we need to figure out why he’s planning to kill the president.” Diego argued, pulling me back to the conversation.

“He’s not.” I responded.

“This is a matter of life and death, you imbecile.” Five growled.

“Yeah, maybe we should take turns talking. Yeah?” Vanya interrupted the argument. She looked around, and picked up a glass conch shell. “Here, whoever has got this conch shell gets to talk.”

“Vanya, we don’t have time for a debate, okay?” Five said steadily, trying to calm himself.

“Maybe I should lead. We all know I’m a better public speaker than the rest.” Allison swooped in and took the conch from Vanya.

“Daddy’s girl.” Diego scoffed as he paced, surveying the room.

“Oh, jealous, Number Two?” Allison quipped.

“Hey, no more numbers. No more bullshit. We’re Team Zero, right?” Diego turned to me. I gave him a blank stare, just to mess with him. “Fine. We’re all Team Zero.” He told Allison.

“Uh, Diego.” Luther interrupted Diego’s speech. “You don’t have the conch.” Diego nodded, pointing to Luther. He picked up the conch from Allison and chucked against the far wall. It shattered.

“Classic.” Allison muttered.

“Well now you don’t get to talk.” I said, sitting next to where Five was standing. Before Diego could argue, the kitchen door opened and Dad walked in. He was younger, and appeared less angry, but it was clearly Reginald Hargreeves. Everyone drew in a collective breath as he strode over and sat down at the head of the table, just like he used to. Five, Allison, and Diego all sat as he did.

“Not only have you burglarized my lab, set my chimp loose, conned your way into the Mexican consulate, repeatedly stalked and attacked me, but you have, on numerous occasions, called me…” Klaus sat down next to him, two drinks in hand. He slid over to me and gave me a wink.

“Hey Pop. How’s it hanging?” Klaus asked Dad.

“Dad.” Dad continued, ignoring Klaus. “My reconnaissance tells me you’re not CIA, not KGB, _certainly_ not MI5, so… who are you?” He looked at each of us in turn as he spoke. All of us opened our mouth to talk, but no one said anything.

“We’re your children.” Five spoke up. Dad whipped around to face him. “We’re from the future.” Five explained. “In 1989, you adopted us all and trained us to fight against the end of the world. Called us the Umbrella Academy.” Klaus raised his glass in solidarity, I guess? Or at something that Ben said that none of us heard.

“Why on earth would I adopt seven—“

“Eight.” Allison corrected. “One of us isn’t here.”

“Dead. One of us is dead.” Diego clarified. Apparently Ben said something.

“Yeah, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba.” Klaus waved a hand in the air and turned around to face a seemingly empty stool. “Enough of that now.” He turned back to us and gestured for us to continue.

“Regardless,” Dad continued, sending Klaus a confused and concerned look. “What would possess me to adopt eight ill-mannered malcontents?”

“We all have special abilities.” Five answered.

“Special? In what sense?” Dad asked. I downed the rest of my drink, and I saw Klaus do the same. This wasn’t going to go smoothly.

“In the superpower sense.” Luther said.

“Call me old-fashioned, but I’m a stickler for a pesky little thing called evidence.” Dad told him. “Show me.”

“Everybody wants to see powers all of a sudden.” Allison scoffed.

“We’re not circus animals, okay?” Luther defended. “We’re not gonna bounce balls on our noses and clap our hands like seals for your amusement.” I chuckled, but quickly covered it up with a small cough. Luther rolled his eyes at me. Diego reached into his pocket and casually flung a knife, which curved behind Dad’s head and imbedded itself in the pillar behind him. So I guess we were showing off. Dad uncapped his pen and wrote something in the journal he had brought.

“What are you writing?” Diego asked, all of us leaning forward to try and see.

“You are zero for two, young man.” He responded. Allison sputtered as she took a drink. Diego scowled and stood up, ready for a fight. Five appeared in front of him.

“Stop.” He whispered.

“Now that is interesting.” Dad commented. Five remained between Diego and Dad, just in case.

“Okay, quick rundown.” Five said, walking back to his chair as he talked, Diego doing the same. “Luther: super strength. Klaus can commune with the dead. Danny can shapeshift into most animals. Allison can rumor anyone to do anything.”

“Except she never uses it.” Diego muttered. Allison smiled mirthlessly and turned to him.

“I heard a rumor you punched yourself in the face.” She said. Diego’s eyes turned white and he brought his fist up to his face.

“Aah!” He groaned, holding his face in his hands. “Damn it!” Allison slurped from her cup smugly.

“And you?” Dad turned to Vanya as Diego continued to groan.

“Uh, maybe we don’t take Vanya for a test run?” Luther suggested.

“Oh, yeah, that’s probably not a good idea.” Klaus agreed.

“Yeah.” Luther nodded.

“It’s fine.” Vanya spoke up. “I can handle it.”

“Handle it?” Allison repeated, “Last time you handled it, you definitely blew up the moon.” We argued over each other, and Vanya picked up a fork, clanging it against her glass. The sound reverberated, so loud that I had to cover my ears. Then the centerpiece exploded, showering all of us with tropical fruits. We all groaned as we scraped off the fruit from our clothes. I pulled a large chunk of papaya out of my hair, and ate it.

“This was my favorite shirt.” Klaus groaned.

“Really?” I asked, my mouth full. I grabbed a pineapple chunk from his shoulder and ate that as well.

“Stop that.” Klaus slapped my hand.

“Oops.” Vanya smiled slightly, proud of herself.

“That was impressive.” Luther admitted. It was quiet for a moment as we all regrouped.

“Look, we know that you’re involved in a plot to assassinate the president.” Diego announced, leaning on the table.

“Oh my god.” I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose.

“You were recently hospitalized, isn’t that correct?” Dad asked. Diego went to say something, but Reginald continued. “You still appear to be suffering from delusions of grandeur and acute paranoia.”

“Am I?” Diego asked. He pulled a folded photo from his back pocket and slid it across the table. “Explain this. That’s you. That’s two days from now on the grassy knoll at the exact spot the president’s gonna get shot.” Dad picked up the photo and studied it briefly.

“Well,” He looked at us all. “Looks like you’ve solved it. You’ve single-handedly unearthed my nefarious plot.” He said sarcastically, sliding the photo back to Diego. “Is that what you want to hear? You fancy yourself a do-gooder? The last good man who will save us from our descent into corruption and conspiracy? This is a fantastic delusion. The sad reality is you’re a desperate man, tragically unaware of his own insignificance, desperately clinging to his own ineffectual reasoning.” Diego slowly sat down, heartbrokenly staring at our father.

“More succinctly,” Dad continued. “A man in over his head.”

“Y-You-You’re w-wr-wrong.” Diego stuttered, his eyes welling up with tears. We all looked away for a moment, not wanting to get the same lashing that Diego did.

“Look, forget about the president. We have a catastrophic war coming in five days. We need to figure out how to stop it.” Five brought us back to the apocalypse at hand.

“War?” Dad scoffed. “Men will always be at war with each other.”

“No, this isn’t just some war.” Five responded. “I’m talking about a doomsday. The end of the world.”

“Well... you’re the special ones, aren’t you?” Dad asked. “Why don’t you band together and do something about it?”

“Because we don’t know what starts it, you pompous ass!” I slammed my hands on the table, glaring at Dad. Everyone looked at me, and there was a few seconds of silence. But then Klaus, just having to be the center of attention, decided it was time for a show.

A small blue light emanated from his chest, and he threw his arms up, his whole upper body convulsing. He gasped, like he couldn’t breathe.

“Is he having a seizure?” Allison asked.

“Overdosing probably.” Diego muttered.

“Should we do something?” Luther asked.

“Klaus!” Five hissed. “Now is not the time. What are you doing?” Klaus turned towards Five, his movements jerky and painful. He opened his mouth to speak, but he gave a low distorted gurgling sound.

“I’m…” He started.

“Out with it boy.” Dad pushed. Klaus gasped again.

“Ben!” Klaus exclaimed, tipping out of his chair and onto the ground, panting like he just ran a marathon. He shuddered and convulsed slightly, and then stopped.

“Well…” Dad grabbed his journal and pen. “Thank you for coming. I’ve seen about enough.” He stepped over Klaus’s gasping body and went to go back the way he came.

“Wait, I—“ Luther sputtered. Dad continued to walk. Luther slammed his fists on the table and stood up, ripping his shirt open. Buttons scattered across the table. “Look at what you did to me.” He cried. “Look at it!”

“Holy shit.” I laughed in surprise.

“Oh, shit. Why?” Five slumped in his seat. Dad studied Luther for a second before pulling himself away.

“You in the culottes.” He pointed to Five. “A word, in private?” Five got up and followed Dad out of the room.

“Check please.” Allison called out, but there was no one in the restaurant. I helped Klaus to his feet, and we staggered to the elevator. Klaus slid to the floor as we all got in.

“Well, that went as well as any Hargreeves family function.” Allison commented.

“I feel so violated.” Klaus groaned. “I need an herbal bath. You had no right to possess me.” He said to an empty spot in the elevator. Vanya, Allison, Luther, and I looked down at him. Then we went back to staring at the elevator door.

“Oh, congratulations.” Allison turned to Luther.

“For what?” He asked.

“I _think_ that’s the first time you’ve ever stood up to Dad.” She said. Luther gave a low hum in agreement.

“Are you okay?” Vanya asked Diego.

“So much for having my back in there.” Diego bit. “Team Zero, my ass.” The doors opened and he stormed out. Vanya followed him, and Allison went to the other way. Luther left as well. I looked down at Klaus.

“Okay, let’s go.” I pulled his leg, and he slid slightly down the elevator wall. “Come on.” I grunted. Luther came back and grabbed Klaus’s leg.

“Just leave me.” Klaus groaned as he was drug through the lobby. I followed them to the parking lot.

“Come on.” I groaned, helped Klaus to his feet. “You okay?” I brushed his now messy hair away from his face.

“Yeah. Well, I mean, relatively, for being possessed.” He gave a breathy laugh.

“I wouldn’t call it possession so much, more borrowing.” I responded. Klaus groaned in exasperation.

“You and Ben. It’s like talking to the same person sometimes.”

“Then maybe you should listen to us more. Are you okay to get home?” I asked.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. I’ll see ya later, okay?” Klaus said, getting in his car. He drove off. I went back to where Diego was, and we watched a black limo drive away.

“I’m sorry.” I said, shoving my hands in my pockets.

“Damn old man brings out the worst in all of us.” Diego sighed. “I thought he’d be different when he was younger, but he’s still the same bastard who screwed us all up as kids.” Luther came out from the building and stood next to Diego.

“Ready to go?” Luther asked.

“Yeah.” Diego said hoarsely. We followed him to the car and drove back to Elliott’s, coming up the back stairs to Elliott’s apartment.

“Oh shit.” I breathed, the smell of blood wafting from upstairs. “Guys, stop.” Luther and Diego looked back at me.

“What’s your deal?” Diego asked, annoyed.

“Something’s wrong. I smell blood. A lot of blood.” I answered. The three of us crept up the stairs and Luther gently pushed open the door. WE walked through the kitchen, and Luther crouched down, looking at a series of blood droplets. Diego pulled out his knife and went to look through the rooms. I looked through the living room and gasped. Elliott’s back was to us, sitting in the old dentist’s chair. He was facing the front of the store, leaned back. He was completely still. Luther and I went over to him.

I nearly gagged when I saw Elliott’s face. A long knife protruded from his chest, there was a dental instrument in his eye, and almost dried blood came from his open mouth.

“Diego?” I croaked out. He came out from the bedroom and walked over. He looked at Elliott, and then followed the trail of blood down over the balcony.

“Holy shit.” He whispered. Luther and I walked over to see what he was staring at. Written on the floor in big letters was three words: _ÖGA FÖR ÖGA._


	18. Season II, Episode VII

“I can’t believe Elliott’s dead.” Luther said. Diego pulled the knife out from Elliott’s chest and I covered his corpse with a sheet.

“He was a good guy.” Diego agreed. “Deserved better than this.” 

"Yeah.” Luther agreed. Diego turned and came over by where I was, still staring at the writing on the first floor. _Öga for Öga_. 

“Elliott must’ve been getting too close to the truth.” Diego said. “It smells like the feds.” 

“What?” I asked, both of us turning to Diego.

“Are you out of your mind?” Luther agreed with me. “Diego, if this were the federal government, they would take him somewhere and question him. They wouldn’t… do this.” He gestured back to Elliott’s body. “No. This is the work of a psychopath.”

“ _Öga Föröga_.” Diego read aloud. “That a name?” Luther came over and looked as well.

“I doubt it. I think it’s _Öga För Öga.”_ I said.

“I’ll look it up.” Luther went to the kitchen and pulled out the phonebook. “Okay…” He mused, flipping to the O section. “Holy shit, I found her.” Diego and I came over, looking over his shoulder. Luther ran a finger under the name _Olga Foroga_.

“Olga Foroga.” He scoffed. “That must be her.”

“Call the bitch.” Diego told him.

“On it.” Luther reached for the phone, but I darted in front of him and blocked it.

“Hold on. That’s Olga Foroga. Not Oga. Different name, and I don’t really think it’s a name anyways. It looks like German or something.” I explained, holding the phone. Luther gave me an unimpressed look and took the phone from me. I threw my hands up in exasperation and decided to go back in the living room with the dead body. I heard Five zap downstairs and I leaned over the banister to make sure. He stood in the middle of the foyer and examined the writing on the floor. I gave a quiet whistle to get his attention and nodded for him to come upstairs. He jogged up.

“Jesus, were you in a slaughterhouse?” I whispered, wrinkling my nose at the smell of drying blood. He didn’t answer my question. He put down a big black briefcase and looked down at the white sheet in the dental chair.

“Is that—“ He started. I nodded, gesturing for him to look if he wanted.

“Damn.” Five sighed quietly, taking a look and covering Elliott’s face back up. I watched as Five snuck through the living room, pushing the briefcase between a pile of boxes and a filing cabinet.

“What’s that?” I asked, following him. Five ignored me and went to the kitchen.

“Hey, it’s _Öga för Öga,_ idiots.” Five said, taking off his blazer. “Swedish for ‘an eye for an eye’. It means the Swedes killed Elliott.”

“Wrong number.” Diego told Mrs. Foroga. “Have a nice day.” He quickly hung up the phone.

“We would have gotten there.” Luther said quietly to Diego.

“Eventually.” He agreed.

“Yeah.”

“I swear between the two of you, you only have three brain cells.” I told them both. Five scoffed in agreement. Luther and Diego turned to Five, only now taking a proper look at the state he was in.

“Uh, you have some blood on you.” Luther told him.

“A lot of blood, actually.” Diego qualified. Five swept past them and into the bathroom.

“Five, what did you do?” Luther called after him. The bathroom door closed without an answer.

“Well, I’d say that he murdered some people, but that’s just from context clues.” I said, standing between them.

“We gotta go.” Five called out from the bathroom after a moment. I slipped on my jacket that was lying on the couch, but as I was coming back, the partially hidden briefcase caught my eye. I took it and set it on the kitchen table. It was quiet for a few moments as Five de-gored himself. He opened the door and straightened his vest in the mirror.

“What’s with the briefcase?” I asked.

“I found a way home.” Five answered.

“What? How?” Luther demanded.

“All the details are irrelevant, but… I made a deal to get back to our timeline.” Five put his tie on and smoothed his uniform.

“What about Doomsday?” Diego asked, putting on his coat.

“Won’t happen.”

“And the 2019 apocalypse?”

“Everything will be back to normal.” Five snapped. “All right? Now, no more questions.” He brushed past us. “We gotta go. We have to find the others, right?”

“Yeah.” Luther confirmed.

“Luther, you find Allison. Diego, Danny, get Klaus. I’ll get Vanya. Now, we meet back in the arrival alley in seventy-seven minutes. Here,” Five took four wristwatches and handed them to each of us. “I’ve synchronized these watches.”

“Okay, let’s do this.” I said, putting the watch on. Five turned and was going to leave, but Diego stopped him.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on.” He said. “You show up drenched in blood and expect us to believe everything’s gonna go back to normal if we go home now?”

“Elliott just got _killed_ because of us.” Five reminded Diego.

“What about Dad?” Diego asked. He walked closer to Five. “What about JFK?”

“Diego, we have a chance to go home and make things right. We are taking it.” Five argued. Diego nodded in reluctant agreement.

“I have to say goodbye to Lila.” He said.

“Oh my god! You goddamn idiot!” I cried out in exasperation.

“Lila doesn’t give a shit about you!” Five yelled. “She never did.” He lowered his voice. “She’s one of them. She’s a member of the Commission.”

“No way. Not possible.” Diego denied.

“She was just using you to get to me. You’re the Oswald of this story my friend. The goddamn patsy.” Five went to leave again.

“You don’t know what you’re talk—“ Five zapped back right in front of Diego, cutting him off.

“If you don’t do this, I’ll kill you myself.” Five threatened. “Got it?” Diego didn’t reply and Five whooshed away. Luther came in from the kitchen and placed a reassuring hand on Diego’s shoulder, sighing heavily.

“Women. Am I right?” He gave Diego a thin-lipped smile.

“Come on. We’re losing daylight.” I complained, pulling Diego out of Elliott’s and down the street. “It’ll take some time to get Klaus’s dumbass down here and away from his cult.” WE got in Diego’s car and drove out of the city.

“Stop checking your watch. You’re making me anxious.” Diego told me.

“Sorry.” I sheepishly laughed, pulling my sleeve back over my wrists. We pulled off the highway at a huge mansion.

“Holy shit. He’s done well.” I muttered as we walked up to the house. Dozens of people in blue cloth tunics and pants milled about.

“If you were Klaus, where would you be?” Diego mused, looking around.

“Hold on.” I went over to one of the members who was tending to the flowers lining the house entryway. “Where’s Klaus?” I asked her.

“Oh, the Prophet.” The woman said wistfully. “He’s in the tulip garden.

“Can you show us?” I asked, trying to be gentle but not wanting to waste any more time. We only had forty-two minutes.

“We all live here sustainably. We grow our own food you know.” The woman explained as she led us through the house to the back gardens. “Are you a fan of the prophet?”

“Not really.” Diego muttered. The woman looked back at him, confused.

“We’re related. We just need him for a quick family thing, and then we’ll bring him right back.” I lied.

“You are truly blessed. After all, as Prophet Klaus said, ‘We are family, my sisters and me’.” She briefly glanced over at Diego. “This of course applies to our brothers as well.” Diego and I stifled our laughter. Blessed was another word for it. We walked across a beautiful bridge and through a maze of tulips. Klaus was sitting in the middle of the garden, tangled up with a woman.

“Yes, yes you are Daddy.” I heard the woman end her sentence as she ran her hands through Klaus’s hair and starting to kiss him. But the weirdest part was that he didn’t seem to into it.

“Daddy?” I whispered to Diego. He shook his head in exasperation.

“Hey Daddy!” Diego yelled as we came up to him. “You got a sec?” Klaus started at seeing us, like he hadn’t just seen us yesterday.

“Diego! Oh my god, Danny!” His eyes flicked back and forth between us. I wasn’t sure if he was high or what, but something was definitely off. “Uh, yeah, I’ll be right back. I promise.” Klaus told the woman.

“Come on.” I pulled his arm as he got up, and we walked out of earshot.

“You need to come with us.” Diego said as we continued to walk through the forest towards the main house. People bowed to Klaus as we walked by.

Where?” Klaus asked.

“Five found us a way home.” I explained.

“It’s so great to talk to you again Diego.” Klaus giggled. “And Danny, I’ve missed you so much. I didn’t think I’d get to talk to you.” Diego and I gave each other a ‘what the hell’ look.

“Did you hear what she just said? We’re going home.” Diego said.

“Yeah, yeah.” Klaus nodded absent-mindedly.

“Are you high, Klaus?” Diego asked.

“No, I’m not Klaus.” We stopped. “I’m Ben.”

“Knock that shit off.” I grumbled.

“You are high.” Diego told Klaus. “Look, we don’t have time for this.” Diego and I started to walk away, but Klaus grabbed Diego’s arm.

“Wait, I can prove it.” Klaus insisted. “Ask me something only Ben would know.” Diego thought for a moment.

“Okay. When were ere little, what did you reprogram Allison’s Teddy Ruxpin to say?” Diego asked. Klaus rolled his eyes and looked at Diego like he was stupidest man in the world.

“Luther sniffs Dad’s underwear.” He said in a sing-song voice. Diego backed up a few steps in amazement. Klaus chuckled at his wonder.

“Holy shit.” Diego laughed. Apparently this was enough for him. Diego pulled Klaus-Ben into a bear hug. “I don’t get it, I mean, Klaus said you didn’t make it to Dallas.” They pulled away.

“Well, Klaus says a lot of things, but guess what? I can possess him now and it’s freaking awesome!” Ben exclaimed.

“Okay, you can tell me all about it on the way back to 2019, okay?” Diego brushed the hair out of Ben’s face. They stared at each other a moment and we started to walk back to the house again. Ben grabbed my hand, and I gave him a reassuring squeeze.

“Wait, what about Destiny’s Children?” Ben asked, turning back towards the gardens. “We can’t just leave them. I mean, Klaus should be the one to tell them—“

“No, no, no, no, okay? You stay in this body. We need someone responsible behind the wheel.” Diego responded.

“All right, Diego. Will you wait? I just need, like, ten minutes.” We stopped in front of the house. “Ten minutes.” Ben pleaded.

“Actually, there is something I need to do first.” Diego looked at his watch. I looked at mine as well. Thirty-three minutes. “Meet me in the alley behind Elliott’s in thirty minutes okay? Danny, you have a watch, don’t let either of them be late.” Diego pointed at Ben.

“We won’t.” Ben insisted. “I won’t.” Diego grabbed the sides of Ben’s face.

“Good to see you brother.” He said.

“You too.” Ben responded. Diego left.

“Hey Danny.” Ben turned to me. My eyes welled with tears and I tackled him in a hug.

“I’ve missed you so much! You’ve always been my favorite.” I pulled away. “Wait, is that wrong to say, since this is the first time I’ve met you?”

“No, not at all.” Ben consoled, brushing some hair from my face. “You’re my favorite sometimes.”

“Even more than Klaus?” I asked, wiping my eyes with my sleeve.

“I’m just stuck with Klaus sometimes. You’re the only other one who’s ever acknowledged my presence. I’ve always really appreciated it.”

“Well, to be fair, we’re all stuck with Klaus sometimes.” I laughed. “I just wish I could have met you sooner.” Ben’s torso jerked and he pushed his head to the side.

“Are you okay?” I asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Uh, uh huh. Yeah.” He pulled me by the hand towards the house, starting to run. We ran through the mansion, getting strange looks from Klaus’s followers.

“What’s going on with you?” I panted as we continued to run. Every few seconds Ben’s steps would stutter and he would push something I couldn’t see towards his body again.

“Hold on.” He responded as we burst through the front door towards a garishly colored van.

“Hey, uh, Prophet, Prophet, where are you going?” A man followed us out into the parking lot. Ben turned to him.

“Uh, quick vision quest. Be back in a few years. Maybe.” Ben bluffed. We turned to run again.

“Well, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!” The man called out. “Who will bless the pool waters?”

“You can do it Keechie. You can do everything from now on!” Ben yelled.

“No Prophet, I can’t.” Keechie protested. I

“Keechie, bless the water, bless the air, bless the sex swing for all I care.” Ben rushed towards Keechie. “Would you do me just one favor?”

“Yes, of course Prophet. Anything.” Keechie promised.

“Tell Jill that rolling in the dirt was the greatest moment of my life.” Ben told him. He turned away and we started to run again.

“Uh, Prophet, wait!” Keechie cried out again. Ben and I both groaned, turning back to Keechie. “Any last words of wisdom before you go?” Ben looked over at me for help.

“Shit, I don’t know.” I whispered harshly. “Uh, song lyrics? Something meaningful?” Ben sputtered softly before landing on something.

“Oh my God, we’re back again. Brothers, sisters, everybody sing! We’re gonna bring the flavor. We’re gonna show you how.” Ben threw his arms up in the air, pausing. Keechice nodded his agreement and Ben turned back to me. We continued to run.

“Okay, so I got some questions. First, is ‘rolling in ‘rolling in the dirt’ a euphemism? And second, the Backstreet Boys? Really?” I laughed as we paused at the van.

“No, shut up, and yeah. They’re gonna freak when all this music comes out. Kinda wish we could see it.” Ben responded. I got in the driver’s seat and Ben climbed in beside me.

“I know. Okay, c’mon, keys.” I held out my hand.

“Why do you get to drive?” Ben asked before convulsing again. IT looked like he was possessed, which I guess technically he was. “Here.” Ben conceded, tossing me the keys. I drove like a bat out of hell. We only had ten minutes left by the time I got the van parked two blocks away.

“Come on!” I pulled him through the back alleys towards Elliott’s. Every few steps Ben looked like he was trying to pull something out of his body, which meant that Klaus was fighting back. We skidded around the corner and saw Luther and five waiting for us.

“We all made it!” Ben cried as we came closer.

“What do you mean ‘we all’?” Five asked.

“It’s complicated.” I explained as Ben and Klaus fought for body supremacy.

“Get out!” Ben—I guess Klaus, yelled. Then he turned and projectile vomited everywhere.”

“Oh my God!” I whined, jumping up on the dumpster and out of the splash zone. “It’s just like the Exorcist!” Klaus, or Ben, whichever, fell to the ground and rolled on his back, groaning.

“We’ve got eight minutes left.” Five checked his watch again.

“I just had the strangest dream.” Ben or Klaus whimpered.

“Where are the others?” Five yelled in annoyance and desperation. I went over and knelt by Klaus-Ben.

“Klaus?” I hesitantly asked. He turned to me.

“What just happened?” He asked hoarsely.

“Damn it! He’s gone, God damn it!” I yelled, smacking the ground with my hands. He was gone. Ben was gone again. Luther and Five looked at me like I was crazy. I didn’t bother explaining. The four of us watched as the minutes ticked from eight to seven, seven to five, and five to one.

“We’ve got one minute left!” Luther slammed his fist on the dumpster lid, making a sizable dent.

“What’s going on guys? Are we going somewhere?” Klaus asked, still woozy from his possession.

“It was a simple task. It was a _simple_ task!” Five paced. “All we had to do was be here. Didn’t have to fight a giant sea monster, no. An army of mutants? _Nein_.”

“I can’t believe this.” Luther agreed.

“It was handed to us on a silver platter.” Five continued.

“Could you just moan a little softer? My head is killing me.” Klaus sat up and put his hands over his ears.

“Listen to me, you useless puke bag. We just blew our chance to save the world!” Five yelled at him. The briefcase started making a high pitched hum.

“Five.” I called out, nodding to the briefcase.

“God damn it.” Five scoffed.

“Shit.” Luther said, backing up. Five picked up the briefcase and hurled it. Halfway through its arc, the briefcase disappeared in a blue light.

“We were that close.” Five sighed. “That close.”

“So now what?” Luther asked after a moment of silence.

“Make your peace with God.” Five exclaimed.

“What? What about Allison and Vanya?” He asked.

“Screw them both. They should have been here.” Five paced.

“What about Diego? He’s quite a responsible young man, no?” Klaus asked, sitting up again. Five kicked at some boxes in anger.

“Shut up.” I growled at him. Klaus put his hands up in the surrender position.

“Something must’ve happened to them.” Luther agreed with Klaus.

“Screw Diego, all right? Screw everybody! I was better off on my own in the apocalypse.” Five yelled.

“Five!” Luther stopped him. “Come on.”

“You know what Luther? It’s every sibling for himself now. How ‘bout that?” Five went back into Elliott’s and slammed the door behind him.


	19. Season II, Episode VIII

“Did Five just get meaner?” Klaus whimpered.

“Klaus, go check on Allison, okay? Danny, go with him. Make sure she’s okay. Find the others and we’ll meet back here. I’ll handle Five.” Luther left. Klaus stumbled to his feet, sighing.

“You,” He leaned over, pointing at the pile of vomit. “You have had your possession privileges revoked.” He started walking away.

“Just stay out of me!” He called back. He listened to something Ben said.“ Back off!” I jogged to catch up to him.

“Stop yelling at Ben and let’s go.” I pulled him over to the van. I started the car and drove towards south Dallas.

“What’s your problem Danny?” Klaus asked.

“I don’t know Klaus. Maybe it’s that I just met Ben, the brother I never met and then as soon as I met him, he disappeared again. How about I’m stuck in a van with a guy who was yelling at a pile of vomit? Maybe it’s that we missed our chance to go home and I don’t want to be stuck in a place that doesn’t even let me fucking vote yet! I don’t know. Pick your favorite.” I growled.

“Jesus Danny. I’m sorry.” Klaus said quietly. I slammed on the brakes.

“We’re here.” I said, getting out and going to the door. Klaus knocked. A man moved the curtain a smidge and looked at us before visibly sighing and opening the door slightly.

“Hey Ray-Ray. I’m so sorry it’s late, but uh—“ Klaus started.

“Klaus, now is not a good time.” Ray responded.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Klaus said, not intending to leave. A strong smell from inside the house made me queasy.

“I smell blood. Someone’s dead.” I declared.

“What the hell?” Ray asked, turning his attention to me. “You can’t just knock on my door and then say ‘someone’s dead’.

“It’s actually pretty useful. You get used to it.” Klaus brushed off Ray’s complaint. “Allison, hey!” Klaus pushed past Ray and into the house. I stayed put, Ray and I staring at each other.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that you smell dead, you smell good, but someone in your house is dead. In case you didn’t kn—“

“Just come in.” Ray sighed, opening the door wider. 

“I was so worried about you. Thank God you’re okay.” Klaus hugged Allison tightly. “What’s the matter? You guys have been wrestling in here or something?” Klaus pulled away. I stood frozen in the living room, not able to take my eyes off the dead man on their couch.

“Oh, oh, I see.” Klaus sighed as he saw the dead man. “It’s gonna be one of those nights, huh?”

“You killed one of the Swedes.” I muttered, shaking myself out of shock. “Okay,” I cleared my throat and took off my jacket.

“We burying or burning?” Klaus asked, rolling up his sleeves.

“Holy shit.” Ray ran a hand over his hair, taking a deep breath.

“I’d say burying. I can’t stand the smell otherwise. But, you will need to burn those clothes. No evidence.” I pointed at Allison, who was covered in blood. “Showers for both of you. We’ll burn the towels too, just in case.” Allison, Ray, and Klaus stared at me.

“Who are you?” Ray asked me. It only occurred to me now that a random stranger barging into his house and not being surprised at a dead body would be jarring to say the least.

“We’re siblings.” I answered.

“Jesus. Are there any others you neglected to mention?” Ray asked Allison. She mentally counted, and then shrugged.

“Not yet. But she came late to the party, so don’t hold that against me...” Allison trailed off.

“Let’s go. Only an hour till sunrise. We don’t have much time.” I ordered. Allison and Ray left, and I sat down heavily in the armchair across from the Swede. Allison and Ray came back down the stairs twenty minutes later, each carrying a bundle of clothes.

“Great. Do you guys have a least favorite rug by any chance?” I asked.

“Yes.” Allison said at the same time that Ray disagreed.

“I’m not letting one of our rugs be buried with a dead man.” Ray argued.

“The rug your Aunt Helen gave us for our wedding, it’s horrible.” Allison responded, going to the hall closet and pulling out a truly hideous round rug.

“All together. Come on.” Klaus, Allison, and I lifted the Swede onto the rug and rolled him up, tucking the top and bottom in so he was like a dead person burrito.

“God. Why are people so much heavier when they’re dead?” Allison grumbled as she and Ray tied the rope around the body. I sat back down in the armchair, watching as they wrapped a thick twine around the body.

“You got a lot of practice at this?” Ray asked her. Allison glared at him, finishing the knot.

“Yeah.” Klaus laughed from his _oh-so-helpful_ place on the couch. “It was like sex with one of the lesser Baldwins.” He said out of nowhere. I could only hope and assume that he was talking to Ben. “I mean, you can feel him clattering around in there, but do you really care?” Allison and I looked at each other, and then back to Klaus.

“Why? What was it like driving all this hot business?” Klaus asked, putting his hands behind his head. “Oh yeah?” He asked to what Ben replied. Ray finished tying his knot.

“Wanna help?” He asked me. I lazily got off the chair and knelt by the middle of the dead burrito.

“Okay, one, two…” We all lifted straining under the weight, each of us putting the body on a shoulder to balance. Before we had even made a step, a series of blue lights came from the dining room, scaring all of us.

“Shit!” Allison exclaimed, jumping away. Ray shrieked and flattened himself against the wall. Unfortunately, both of them let go of their third of the Swede, and I fell under the dead weight.

“Oh, thank God!” Allison exclaimed at seeing who it was. I couldn’t see anyone, so I took her exclamation as a good sign.

“Oh, good. All right, you’re both here. All right, we gotta go.” Diego said, coming into the living room. I wriggled out from underneath the body and sat next to Klaus.

“You’re never any help, are you?” I grumbled at him, rubbing my sore shoulder.

“Oh, hey Danny.” Diego nodded at me. I nodded back.

“Diego! Jesus!” Allison yelled. The small person with Diego chuckled.

“Wow. Number Two, Three, _and_ Four.” He said. I cleared my throat, not liking to be ignored.

“Oh, and Eight, how could I forget? We almost have an Umbrella straight flush here.”

“Ray, this is my other brother, Diego.” Allison gestured at Diego. Ray looked at us like we were crazy. I guess he was justified in that assessment though.

“Hey, man. Sorry to crash in here like this.” Diego went over to Ray and held out a hand. Ray hesitantly shook it.

“Hey, who is this guy?” Klaus asked, pointing at the short mystery man.

“Herb. He worked with Five at the Commission.” Diego explained.

“The Commission?” Klaus asked.

“We monitor and maintain the time-space continuum.” Herb explained.

“Okay.” Klaus said, not believing it at all.

“No, for real. I was just there.” Diego backed Herb up. “It’s awesome.” He turned to Allison and me. “Okay, I got to look at the timeline. I know what causes Doomsday.” I faked a gasp.

“You mean it’s not about JFK? Who could have guessed that?” I sassed. Diego held up a hand for silence.

“It’s Vanya.” He said. My smirk dropped.

“Wait, what?” Allison asked.

“How?” Klaus stood up.

“She’s gonna blow up the federal building at Dealey Plaza, just as the president’s passing through in less than one hour. We gotta find her and stop her, now.”

“Wait, Vanya kills the president?” I asked, going to stand next to Klaus and Allison.

“No, no. See, the explosion causes the motorcade to drive off. Kennedy lives. Everybody thinks Russia’s behind it, including the president.”

“And that causes World War III and the nuclear fallout.” I said, all the pieces clicking together.

“He strikes back, they strike back. Before you know it, it starts raining nukes.” Diego agreed.

“Oh, okay, um…” Allison started.

“Holy shit.” Klaus muttered under his breath. Allison turned to Ray, who was understandably freaking out.

“Ray? Ray, baby.” She went over and held his hand. “Are… are you okay? Okay.”

“No, I’m not okay.” Ray responded. “First of all, this son of a bitch beams into our living room with yet another one of your brothers, and he’s talking about stopping one of your sisters from blowing up some buildings and I got a dead man wrapped up in my best rug, babe.”

“Okay. Okay, okay. Can we… can we...” Allison tried to touch him, but he was starting to freak out. “Raymond. Ray, Ray.” She tried to console him. They moved into the dining room to talk.

“Or we can have that shampooed.” Herb called after them, then turned back to us. “We also provide body removal services.” He chuckled.

“How does that work? You got a phone number or something?” I asked.

“Yeah, we have a business card.” Herb said, reaching into his suit pocket.

“No.” Diego stopped us both.

“Later.” I mouthed at Herb with a wink. He nodded. Allison came back from her talk with Ray and we left. I waved goodbye, and Ray raised his hand as we left. The ride to Dealey Plaza was in silence. We walked through the plaza with only a few weird looks sent our way and we shuffled into the elevator.

“I hope we find Vanya in time.” Allison said, pressing the button for the fifth floor. Once we passed the third, however, the elevator started to shutter and shake, the lights flickering. The doors dinged open and we were all thrust against the walls of the elevator by the sheer power coming from the room at the end of the hall. Vanya. Allison pulled herself out of the elevator and tried to get towards the door, but the energy was too strong. She held on to the front desk, and ducked behind it. Diego went second, pushing himself next to her. I propelled myself forward, ignoring the bodies stuck to the wall, and the blood on the floors. I landed next to Allison. Klaus came out of the elevator last, but was struck by an energy wave a few steps out. He shouted out in pain and fell to the ground. Allison and I grabbed his outstretched hands and pulled him over to us.

“Question, guys.” Klaus said. “Who are we trying to save Vanya from?”

“FBI!” Allison, Diego, and I yelled in unison.

“But if they’re all sucking ceiling right now, why hasn’t she stopped?” Klaus asked. We all looked at each other, not sure of the answer.


	20. Season II, Episode IX

The wind whipped around us, the air crackling with energy loud enough to hurt my ears. Electricity sizzled and I covered my ears until the wave subsided.

“Vanya’s in the room at the end of the hall.” Diego said unnecessarily.

“How do you propose we get to her?” Allison asked.

“I haven’t figured that one out yet.”

“You can count me out.” Klaus said, pulling out a flask.

“Klaus!” Allison exclaimed.

“What? You guys should save her. You’re great at all the hero shit.” He defended. Allison smacked him.

“Listen, listen. Vanya would understand cause she has realistic expectations of what I am. And what I am, is sexy trash.” Klaus explained. The power surged again and we all groaned.

“You’re a big pussy, that’s what you are.” Diego leaned around Allison and said.

“Guys, now is not the time.” Allison broke up their premature fight.

“Why? Because I don’t wanna die? Who does? And martyrs aren’t around to enjoy the victory party cause they’re dead!” Klaus yelled.

“You are going out there.” Diego climbed over Allison to get to Klaus. “Or I am gonna beat you, and not the way you like it.” Diego and Klaus started to fight.

“And that’s my cue.” Allison decided, going around the desk and trying to reach the door. The energy crackled and screamed, and I heard Allison struggling to make it.

“Vanya!” She cried. “Vanya!” Another surge of energy rolled out and we felt a heavy thud against the desk. Allison.

“All right, I’m going.” Diego said.

“No, wait, wait, wait, wait.” Klaus grabbed his arm.

“What?” Diego turned back.

“If you don’t make it back, there’s one thing that I need to tell you.”

“Klaus, I don’t have time for this.”

“Please.” Klaus begged.

“What?”

“You look like Antonio Banderas with the long hair.” Klaus told him. “I just thought you should know.” They stared in each other’s eyes for a moment.

“Thanks man.” Diego said before turning and struggling against the wind. Klaus grabbed my hand and squeezed it, pressing the other hand on his ears to block out the scream of the energy. I peeked around the desk. Diego had brought out his knives to help tether him, slowly crawling towards the door. He wasn’t gonna make it.

“Klaus, I love you.” I released my hand from his.

“Danny, no. Don’t leave me.” Klaus pleaded, grabbing onto my shoulders in desperation. I looked back at Diego, and then back to Klaus.

“I don’t want to. But I have to. I love you,” I kissed the top of his head. “And Ben, wherever you are, I love you too.” I shifted into a polar bear and struggled around the desk, slowly passing Diego. It felt like every bone in my body was trying to break, and I realized that maybe big wasn’t the way to go.

“Danny!” Diego yelled as I shifted again. Small and sturdy was what I had in mind, but I didn’t think armadillo. Another new one for the books. I lowered my armor and found small pockets where the energy wasn’t hitting as hard, but even then every step was a struggle. I wasn’t going to make it. I ducked into a small divot in the hallway, next to a large water cooler right as another wave hit, smacking me against the wall. I gasped in pain, shifting back. My nails were bleeding from being pulled from the tile, and I wiped the blood from my nose. We were screwed.

“I’m not gonna make it!” Diego yelled out. I looked back at him. He was only ten feet away, barely holding on with his knives.

“Diego!” I screamed. “Come here!” He looked at me, and then at the wall where the fire hose was.

“It’s up to you buddy.” He called out to Klaus. Diego reached up and released the hose, then falling back against the desk where Allison was still lying motionless. After a moment, Klaus appeared from behind the desk, holding onto the fire hose for dear life.

“Klaus! You can do it! Come on!” I called to him. My head was spinning, and I was desperately trying to hold on to consciousness. I watched as Klaus continued towards the door, passing me by on the other side of the hallway. He threw the door opened, but the energy pulsed out stronger than before, tossing him back with Diego and Allison like a rag doll. I tried to shift again, but Vanya’s energy was so strong I could barely move. It felt like I was slowly suffocating from the power.

Suddenly the energy stopped. The people stuck to the walls fell to the floor lifelessly. I saw Vanya’s eyes flick open and then close. When she opened them again, they were back to their normal brown. She slowly got up and walked out of the room. I shakily stood up, my legs feeling like jelly. She ran towards Diego, Klaus, and Allison.

“Are you okay?” She asked breathlessly.

“Vanya.” Allison breathed.

“Physically or emotionally?” Klaus whimpered.

“You’re alive.” Diego slowly got to his knees.

“Did we save the world or what?” Klaus asked.

“I think so.” I answered, coming over as well, leaning on the wall for support.

“Building’s still here.” Allison agreed. Diego checked his watch.

“Kennedy’s a few minutes away. I can still save him.” Diego struggled to his feet and went down the hall. I heard the window blinds open.

“What did you do?” I helped Klaus to his feet and hugged him. “You saved us.”

“I guess so.” Klaus laughed.

“Guys.” Allison called out. Vanya, Klaus, and I gathered around the window, overlooking the street corner.

“Where’s Diego?” I asked.

“Being a dumbass. Look.” Allison pointed. Diego came sprinting out of the Dealey building, straight for a man in the distance. A man wearing all black and holding an umbrella.

“God damn it!” I yelled, pushing through the emergency exit and dashing down the stairs. I chased Diego across the emasculate lawns, but he had too big of a head start. I watched as he tackled Dad to the ground. A car honked as I crossed the street right in front of the motorcade and reached Diego just as gunshots rang out. I ducked and clearly heard the sound of bullets hitting a body. People screamed and scattered, the cars speeding away from the scene.

“No!” Diego yelled. I looked at the man on the ground, but it wasn’t dad. It was just an old man.

“Where the hell is he?” Diego leaned down and grabbed the man by the shirt. The man smiled and pulled out a folded note from his coat pocket, handing it to Diego. Diego read the note, and dropped it on the ground, turning to watch as the last of the motorcade drove away. I picked up the note.

“’I told you so…’God, what a bastard.” I spat. Diego stared at where the motorcade was, the sirens fading off in to the distance.

“Come on. Let’s go.” I tugged at Diego’s arm. “We gotta get the hell outta here.” People continued to scream and run past us. He finally looked to me.

“Why? He already died. We lost.” He responded numbly.

“No, we gotta leave.” People had started to stare at us as they passed. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t wanna be arrested because I happened to be the one person not freaking out about the president being _murdered_.” I hissed, pulling him across the street back towards Dealey Plaza. Vanya, Klaus, and Allison met us in the now vacant lobby.

“We need to go!”


	21. Chapter 21

“Authorities are asking for help identifying several persons of interest at Dealey Plaza at the time of the assassination. The FBI believes they may have been acting in concert with the alleged shooter, Lee Harvey Oswald.” We were gathered at Elliott’s, watching the news bulletin in the lobby.

“Vanya Hargreeves,” The news anchor continued. “Wanted in connection with the deaths of several FBI agents inside the federal building at Dealey Plaza.” He held up a picture of Vanya. He put the picture aside and showed one of Diego.

“A Cuban exile known only as Diego…”

“Cuban?” Diego asked.

“—Who recently escaped from the Holbrook Sanitarium. A bare-knuckled boxer with suspected mafia ties who fights under the alias ‘King Kong.’” A picture went up of Luther talking with Jack Ruby. “Allison Chestnut, a Negro radical responsible for instigation and organizing the recent riots at Stadtler’s lunch counter.” Allison smiled mirthlessly and looked away from the TV.

“And finally, Klaus, the controversial cult leader and known tax evader.” The news anchor showed a stylized poster of Klaus.

“What about me?” I protested, wanting to be known for my accomplishments too.

“We are also asking for help finding Danielle Hargreeves-Clah, an Indian delinquent traveling with the group, possibly in danger. It is suspected that she is not working of her own volition, having been brainwashed.” The anchor continued, showing a picture of my most recent arrest.

“Brainwashed? I am a goddamn adult.” I laughed in astonishment.

“Aw, does it feel bad to look young for your age?” Five mocked me lightly.

“Don’t think I won’t kick your thirteen year old ass.” I growled at him.

“The FBI is asking the public to be on the lookout for this unidentified boy, who they believe is being held hostage by the suspected terrorist network.” The anchor continued, ending our potential scuffle.

“Well it’s true.” Five said. “I do feel like I’m being held hostage most days.”

“God I hate that photo.” Diego muttered.

“They’re saying I instigated the riot? That’s unbelievable.” Allison scoffed.

“Look, the good news is that we restored the timeline and we stopped doomsday.” Luther pointed out. “So—“

“Yeah, a bunch of real goddamn heroes.” Diego interrupted. “We let Kennedy die.”

“Yeah, and now we’re officially the most wanted people in the world.” Allison interjected. “The FBI is after us, the Dallas police, the Secret Service. I mean, it’s only a matter of time before they hunt us down.” Klaus came slowly down the stairs as she spoke.

“Well, where are we supposed to go?” Vanya asked.

“I have this yurt just outside Reykjavik. We could totally lay low there.” He said. Allison turned away in exasperation. “People are a little weird there, but welcoming.” Klaus continued, unaware.

“Hey, numbnuts.” Five called out. Klaus stopped and turned to him. “Hiding’s not gonna make a difference here. The commission will hunt us down wherever and whenever we go.”

“He’s right. They’ll never stop.” Diego agreed, like he knew.

“I’m sorry, but when are you an expert on the commission?” Five asked.

“Since I got back from there.” Diego responded.

“What?” Five asked.

“Yeah, they headhunted me, offered me a job. Full time with benefits, which I had to turn down.” Diego explained. Five made a face.

“They headhunted _you_ … the village idiot.” Five chuckled. Even I found it hard to believe.

“What, am I not allowed to be headhunted?” Diego argued. “Only the almighty Five needs to be in demand?” Allison sat down on the stairs, sensing that this was the start of a long argument. I went over and joined her.

“Diego, you’re not Commission material, all right? Got an obstinate nature to you.”

“Who do you think it was that figured out Vanya was the one that causes doomsday and stopped it? Me.”

“Hey!” Klaus called out, seeing that Vanya was getting uncomfortable with the damning spotlight.

“I did. I figured it all out on the Infinite Switchboard.” Diego said.

“You were on the Infinite Switchboard?” Five clarified.

“Hell yeah. I made that machine my bitch. Y’all need to recognize I got shit going on y’all don’t even know about.” Diego responded. I laughed bitterly, like he had it so rough.

“Oh, sorry. You’ve got things going on?” Allison scoffed.

“This isn’t helpful.” Luther interrupted, stepping between Five and Diego. But that didn’t stop Diego.

“Look, I met the Resistance in their secret lair. I went through orientation and I passed, and I stopped doomsday.” As Diego spoke, Vanya climbed the stairs, unnoticed by everyone else. I was going to follow, but wanted to see where this family argument went.

“Oh, so you’ve finally become proactive in this timeline.” I grumbled.

“I’ve done more than you to save this timeline.” Diego responded.

“I seem to remember you being in an insane asylum for two months. Or am I thinking of another sibling?” I shot back.

“Hey, that’s enough.” Luther tried to mollify the situation.

“Stay out of this.” I told Luther.

“It’s not like you’ve done anything helpful.” Diego agreed.

“I’m keeping tabs on the mafia, and I was trying to find all of you, which was more than what you’ve been doing.” Luther argued.

“At least I wasn’t busy playing with myself.” Diego retorted.

“Can you dispense with the dick-measuring for five minutes?” Allison asked.

“Unless you can literally, ‘cause Ben and I—“ Klaus started.

“We don’t have time for this. The Feds could be here any minute.” Luther interrupted. “The Feds could be here at any minute.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying.” Allison said.

“I’m agreeing.” Luther said, with a tone that said he wasn’t.

“Okay, calm down, Hairy—“ Five began.

“Hey, it’s King Kong. And I’m sick of your ass, okay?” Luther pointed at Five.

“Yeah, okay, you win.” Diego shouted at Luther.

“Guys, we need to move, okay?” Luther responded. “That is more important here. That is our _only_ option.”

“We need to box those windows and stay here.” Diego argued. Vanya hurried down the stairs.

“I’m leaving.” She said. We stopped arguing and looked at her.

“What? To go where?” Allison asked, standing.

“Sissy’s farm. Something’s wrong with Harlan, and I need to help him.”

“Vanya, we need to stick together, okay?” Luther said. “Now more than ever.”

“That’s why I’m telling you this.” Vanya responded. “Whatever’s going on with Harlan, I think I might’ve caused it.”

“How?” I asked. Vanya sighed, debating whether or not to tell us the truth.

“He drowned, and uh, somehow I was able to bring him back to life. And now it’s like we’re connected.” She explained.

“Wh- what does that even mean?” Luther asked.

“I don’t know. I can’t explain, but… I know that he needs my help.” She sighed softly. “I need your help, too.” She paused and looked at all of us. “I’m scared. And for the first time in my life, I don’t wanna do it alone. I want my family by my side.” We were all quiet for a moment, and Diego stepped forward.

“Look, I’m sorry. We have other priorities right now.” He told her.

“Diego’s right.” Five conceded. “For once. We need to make our stand here and now.” Vanya looked at each of us, Klaus, Luther, Allison, and I avoided her gaze.

“Okay.” She said softly. “I guess I’ll see you when I see you.” She left.

“Hold on.” I stood up, thinking of something. “You said that the commission would hunt us down wherever and whenever we are, right?” I asked Five and Diego. They both nodded, not sure where I was going with this.

“Then if that’s true. I’m gonna go with my sister.” I told them.

“Ugh, fine.” Klaus stood up and followed me out to the alley. “Your do-gooding better not get me killed.” He told me. Vanya started the car and opened the front door. I slid in next to Vanya.

“So, so, so…” Klaus started, sliding in next to me and closing the door behind him. “Ben, huh? Gone forever. Isn’t he?”

“Wait, what?” I asked.

“He traded his life for mine… while he saved the world in the process.” Vanya leaned over to look at Klaus.

“Pfft. Show off.” Klaus grumbled. He paused for a moment before continuing. “But did he… say anything about… me?” Vanya nodded.

“He wanted me to tell you that he was too scared to go to the light. It wasn’t you that made him stay.”

“Oh,” Klaus chuckled softly. “That little shit-heel. All these years, and I thought it was _my_ fault that he didn’t take his ticket to heaven.” Klaus laughed.

“Look, I’m sorry, but you two should get out, ‘cause I need to—“

“Oh, no, we’re coming with.” I told her.

“We can’t let you face the unknown alone, right?” Klaus added. Diego and Allison came outside and climbed in the backseat.

“Got room for two more?” Allison asked.

“What about the Commission?” Vanya turned in her seat to look at them.

“Well, might as well do some good before we die horribly.” Diego kicked my seat gently. I smiled at him.

“Whoo-hoo!” Klaus gave a little hoot. Five came out as well, opening the passenger side door.

“Five, you… you don’t have to—“ Vanya started.

“I know. You owe me one, sis.” He told her. He then turned to Klaus and me. “Children ride in the back.”

“Klaus, he’s talking to you.” I added, not giving up my seat.

“Okay.” Klaus clambered over the seat and wedged his way between Allison and Diego.

“Aw Christ.” Allison muttered as they got situated. We turned and looked at each other for a moment.

“Guys, I don’t know what to say.” Vanya said appreciatively. The hatch door opened and Luther got in. The car creaked and groaned, the back dropping almost to the ground. I stifled my laughter, and Luther shot me a look.

“Anyone makes a fat joke, and I’m outta here.” He said. We turned around and Vanya restarted the car. The muffler scraped along the pavement as we left town.

About fifteen minutes out from Sissy’s farm, I noticed a swirling cloud formation. I had been in Texas just long enough that it made me nervous. The hair on the back of my neck rose and refused to lay down again.

“See that?” I asked, nodding to the clouds.

“Ah shit.” Five whispered to himself, acknowledging that it wasn’t good. Snow fell from the clouds that were circulating above the old barn. As soon as the car slowed in the driveway, we all jumped out. Lightening flashed from the clouds, and an energy force went straight down onto the barn, lighting the old structure from the inside out.

“You think whatever’s going on inside is causing the cold front?” Diego asked.

“Well, the correlation is high.” Five said, slamming the door shut behind us. Vanya ran around the car and towards the barn. The barn door opened and a woman came running out, pointing a rifle at us. I should have been more surprised, but considering the week I had, I wasn’t even phased.

“Sissy! Sissy!” Vanya yelled out.

“Get back!” Sissy yelled, racking the round. She rushed towards us, stopping at the fence line. “All of you just get the hell back!”

“Hey! Hey! What’s wrong?” Vanya slowly approached the fence line. Sissy looked at us, and then back to Vanya.

“Carl.” She panted.

“What did he do to you?” Vanya asked. Sissy shook her head, breathing shakily.

“He’s…He’s dead.” Sissy said. “Harlan tossed him aside like a rag doll, same way you sent those policemen flyin’. What did you do to him?”

Vanya went to speak, but no words came out. 

“What the hell did you do to my son?” Sissy shouted.

“We don’t have time for this.” Diego said, going towards the barn.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Sissy turned the gun on Diego.

“To help your son.” Diego reached out a hand reassuringly.

“Look, Sissy, I found my family.” Vanya said. “These are my brothers and my sisters.” Klaus and I gave a small wave from the back of the group.

“Ma’am.” Luther nodded. Sissy lowered the gun and turned back to Vanya.

“Were you lyin’ to me the whole time?” She asked.

“Of course not.” Vanya told her, taking a few steps closer. “Look, I didn’t know who I was. But I do now. And we are not the monsters they say we are. We did not kill the president. We are not terrorists. We’re not here to hurt anyone.”

“Then… who are you?” Sissy asked.

“The only one who can help Harlan.” Vanya explained. Sissy nodded slowly and let the gun fall to her side. We followed Sissy to the barn, and she pulled the doors open. Harlan was floating in a bubble of mass energy, seizing like he was possessed. The energy whooshed around us, whipping out clothes and hair.

“Harlan!” Vanya yelled over the roar of the wind. “Harlan, it’s Vanya!” Harlan gave no sign of recognition, continuing to thrash and gasp.

“Look , Harlan, I know you’re really scared, but I can help you.” Vanya tried again. “I need you to listen to me, okay? Can you do that?” She looked back to Sissy, who nodded her support. A high pitched metallic while started and Vanya slowly stepped into the bubble.

“Careful.” Five said. I wasn’t sure if that was directed at Vanya or just in general. I heard an energy whoosh sound like Five’s coming from outside. Klaus must’ve heard it too, looking over at the open field on the other side of the barn. He and I looked at each other in confusion and went outside. Across the field stood Lila and a woman holding a black briefcase.

“Shit.” I breathed.

“Uh, guys?” Klaus called to the others.

“What?” Diego joined us and the others did as well, figuring that Vanya could handle the kid by herself.

“Aw shit.” Five agreed with me once he saw who we were looking at.

“What, who are they?” Klaus asked, completely oblivious.

“One’s the Handler, the other’s Diego’s girlfriend.” Five explained tersely.

“Lila. That’s my _ex-_ girlfriend.” Diego clarified, like it made a big difference.

“You know what? Doesn’t matter. They both look angry.” Luther stopped Allison and Klaus’s incoming questions before they started.

“Yeah.” Diego agreed.

“Our brother has that effect on people.” Allison added.

“Wait, which one?” I asked, giving her a small smile. She smiled back and shook her head lightly at me.

“I’m gonna go find out what they want. You guys stay with Vanya and the kid.” Five instructed.

“I’m coming with you too.” Diego said. The two of them left back towards the road. Allison, Klaus, Luther, and I slowly crept away from the barn, watching as Diego and Five approached Lila and the Handler.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Allison asked.

“I don’t know. Which one’s the girlfriend?” Luther asked.

“The little one. To be honest, I don’t much care for her.” I said, crossing my arms. Suddenly, in the same blue light of Five’s powers, a pair of people showed up behind the Handler, in matching suits and holding guns. Then another. Scores of agents appeared, some in masks, some not, all holding guns and briefcases.

“No.” I breathed out as the woman pulled out a red scarf and held it aloft. “Run!” I pulled Klaus with me as we sprinted back towards the house. Gunfire ricocheted off the ground at our heels.

“Get down!” Allison yelled, and we dove behind an old, broken hay wagon. The bullets pinged off the metal food trough behind us, and Luther wrapped his arms around the three of us, pulling us closer to him and away from the gunfire. After a few seconds, a high pitched metallic ringing sound enveloped the gunshots.

“Vanya.” I breathed, finally noticing that the snow storm above the barn had stopped. Vanya came levitating out of the top floor of the barn, bright blue light emanating from her chest. She floated for a moment, and the tone intensified, becoming unbearable. I covered my ears, watching as she gathered strength for an attack. Luther pulled us close again as a massive shockwave emanated from Vanya.

Everything went silent.

The four of us looked at each other, making sure that the others heard nothing too. Luther slowly released us.

“It’s over.” Allison said. We all stood up, looking back over the field. Hundreds of bodies littered the way, but something in the middle of the field stopped me in my tracks.

“What the fuck?” I asked, panic creeping through my body. A familiar blue orb was protecting Lila and the Handler, emitting the same soft hum as Vanya’s power.

“How are they doing that?” Luther asked. The bubble dissolved and a blue light came from Lila’s chest. She began to levitate, and the same tone from Vanya’s powers rang out. The blue light grew in intensity and the ringing got louder.

“Shit. Shit.” Luther whispered as we started to back towards the house. The energy caught up to us and threw me through a fence and skidded onto the pavement. Every part of my body hurt, like I had just gotten hit with a semi. I rolled on all fours, spitting up pieces of gravel. Shakily getting up, I wiped my mouth on my torn jacket sleeve.

“Help!” Diego’s voice called out. I limp-jogged towards his voice.

“Vanya! Help!” Diego’s leg was stuck under the front end of the now upturned tractor. We all ran to him.

“Now that we’re here, can you stop complaining?” Luther asked.

“Or we could just leave you here.” Klaus said, raising a valid point.

“What he said.” Allison agreed.

“Does everything in this family have to be a discussion?” Vanya asked, looking back at the barn anxiously. Luther strained under the weight of the tractor, pulling it off Diego’s leg.

“Go, go, go, go!” Allison helped pull Diego out from under it.

“Are you out?” Luther grunted.

“Yeah.” The tractor slammed on the ground. Diego slowly got to his feet.

“Team Zero! Unstoppable!” Diego went to high-five Luther right as Luther was going for a fist bump. They stopped and awkwardly looked at each other.

“Has anyone seen Five?” Allison asked, looking around us. It was just the six of us.

“I don’t know, he’s around here somewhere.” Luther said. “By the way, your ex-girlfriend can blink like Five.” He told Diego.

“Yeah, that bitch just rumored me so I couldn’t breathe.” Allison added.

“And destroyed, like, half the farm with a shock wave. So unoriginal.” Klaus concluded.

“If she can do everything we can, she might as well just be one of us.” Vanya said. Luther chuckled, but stopped after a second, realizing that Vanya was right. We all looked at each other, not liking what we all just realized.

“No.” Luther objected. “No, there’s no way. It can’t be.”

“It’s a reasonable conclusion.” Allison stated.

“Eh, but there were only eight of us.” Klaus argued.

“Not originally. I came late, remember?” I pointed out, brushing the leftover gravel off my face, hissing as my hand touched my cheek. It came away with blood.

“Maybe we need to consider that there are more of us out there.” Vanya said.

“Are we surprised? I mean, Dad never told us the whole truth about anything.” Allison said.

“But she’s not our biological sister… right?” Diego asked, double checking something. We just looked at him, not liking the implication of his question.

“Okay, so, if she can mirror our powers, that means anything we throw at her, she can match, right?” Luther asked, getting us back on track.

“Yeah, but she can only mirror one of our powers at a time.” Klaus said. Allison looked at him dubiously.

“You sure about that?” She asked.

“How about we just go in and tell her that she’s one of us, huh? Instead of fighting?” Vanya asked.

“I don’t know.” I admitted stonily. “I would like to have some words with her.”

“We don’t know what she’s been told though. She might not know she’s special. I mean, did you?” Klaus asked me.

“No, I thought everyone could shapeshift at will.” I said sarcastically.

“She grew up with the Commission. She might not know.” Diego agreed with Klaus. They started walking to the barn, where sporadic blue flashes came from inside. I followed, not agreeing with the group decision, but going along for the ride.

“She was looking for you.” Five’s voice carried out.

“Why?” Lila asked as we came around the corner into the barn.

“’Cause you’re one of us.” Diego answered. Lila whipped around to face us. “The Handler stole you, Lila. Just like our asshole father took all of us.”

“No, it’s not the same thing.” Lila denied.

“You’re right.” Diego said. “Because he didn’t have our parents murdered.” He slowly stepped forward. “Listen to me Lila. You were born October 1st, 1989, the same day as all of us.”

“Stay back!” Lila yelled. We all stepped back, telling her to wait. We slowly encircled her, so there was no way she could run.

“Lila, Lila, stop.” Diego called out.

“I trusted you.” She told Diego. “I got you a job, I even introduced you to my mother, and then you took off on me.”

“Because I needed to save the world!” Diego yelled back. He took a breath and calmed down. “She was using you, Lila. The Handler.”

“You’re wrong. She raised me. She loves me.” Lila told him.

“Yeah, you know what?” Luther asked, pulling her attention to him. “Love shouldn’t have to hurt this much.” Klaus and I looked at each other with a ‘what the hell is Luther talking about’ face. We had used that one a lot over the years. Lila made an exaggerated gagging noise.

“All right, I tried.” Luther conceded.

“He’s right. We have to kill her.” Five inched towards her. I nodded my assent.

"Yes." I assented. 

“Hey! Five! Danny, come on. Five, stop!” Diego held out a hand. “I got it.” He leaned toward Lila. “Truth? She’s dangerous, and you’re scared of what she’ll do with all that new power. That’s why you dragged me to the Commission. Because I know what it’s like to love dangerous people.” Klaus and I exchanged a ‘where is Diego going with this’ face, less frequently used.

“Difference is,” Diego said, looking at each of us in turn. “They love me back.”

“Shut up.” Lila said, pointing a knife at Diego. He was starting to get to her.

“The only thing she loves is power.” Diego continued. “Now, the minute she can’t use you, she will turn on you, and deep down, I _know_ you know that.”

“You don’t know me Diego.” Lila said. They were close enough that her knife was touching his chest. He stepped closer.

“Don’t I?” He asked quietly. “I know that we can be your family. If you just let us.” Lila turned around the circle, looking at us with tears in her eyes. Five quietly blinked out from his spot to the doorway. The Handler walked in, but Five grabbed her arm and twisted something away from her. An automatic rifle. He steadily pointed it at her.

“It’s true, isn’t it?” Lila asked the Handler. “What Five said?” The Handler looked from Lila to Five.

“Answer me! Is it true?” Lila yelled.

“Well,” The Handler started, but the one remaining Swede came into view, shooting her multiple times.

“Oh.” I cried out in surprise as her body hit the floor with a dead thud. Lila stared at the Handler and then went to move.

“The Case!” Luther cried out, going to tackle her.

“No!” Diego stepped in Luther’s path and they both fell to the ground. Lila grabbed the suitcase and disappeared in a blue flash. The Swede looked from the Handler up to Five, and cocked his gun. Five stared at him for a moment, and then dropped his gun.

“Enough.” Five said. The Swede looked at each of us. He said something, I’m presuming in Swedish, and then dropped his gun as well. He turned and left.

“I almost had her. Why did you stop me?” Luther asked, still squishing Diego under him.

“Because I love her.” Diego grunted as Luther got off him. Diego saw something in the straw and picked up a wood bead bracelet that matched his. Klaus looked around, clearly confused.

“Who the hell was that guy?” Klaus asked, gesturing to where the Swede was. Sissy’s cries carried through the barn before we could answer.

“Harlan.” Vanya cried as she ran towards Sissy. We all followed Vanya, a little less urgently.

“That was one of a trio of Swedish assassin brothers. Not too bad. I’m sure they’re nice under the right circumstances.” I whispered to Klaus as we followed her to the barn’s basement. Harlan sat in a corner, curled tight, surrounded by an energy bubble like before. Vanya crawled inside.

“Harlan, Harlan. Whatever it is I gave you, I can take it back, okay?” Vanya told him. “We just, we need to stop this.” She held out her hands, and touched his knees. Blue energy flowed from Harlan through Vanya’s hands, back to where it belonged. We all stared it awe as she took his powers. An energy pulse sent Vanya back, and gusted us with wind. Sissy laughed and ran to hug her son. Vanya turned and looked at us, giving us a relieved smile. We left Sissy and Harlan, going back up to survey the damage.

“You okay?” Klaus asked, brushing some errant pieces of gravel out of my hair. I slapped his hand away as he grazed my cheek.

“Maybe don’t touch the road rash, huh?” I laughed as much as I was able, lightly slapped his arm. I looked back at the house and felt a pang of guilt.

“I gotta make a call. Don’t leave without me.” I told Klaus, going inside. A phone was still hanging on a wall in the kitchen, and I dialed a number.

“Hello?” Violet asked.

“Hey Vi.” I sighed.

“Danny! Oh my God!” Violet exclaimed with a laugh of relief. “You’re all over the news! Where have you been? We can get you a lawyer. Thomas’s cousin is a lawyer. Come home honey. We’ve been worried sick.” My eyes welled with tears.

“I’m so sorry Vi.” I sniffed. “I found all my brothers and sisters. We’re gonna go back home. We don’t have much time to stay for goodbyes.”

“Oh,” Violet sighed. “I’m happy for you honey, I really am. Just thought we would be—“ Violet stopped short. “I’m so happy for you.” She repeated. “We all love you and wish you happiness. We’ll miss you something awful, but you need to go back home. Just promise me something, okay?”

“Sure Vi. Anything.” I said.

“Promise me you’ll come and visit whenever you can okay? We don’t want you to be a stranger. Promise me you’ll stop by as often as you can. You’ve always got a home here. Remember that.”

“I will.” I promised, crying into the receiver.

“Love you honey.” Violet hung up. I shakily hung the phone back up on the wall and turned around. Klaus sat on the ground, his back to the couch and held his dog tags tight in his fist.

“Sorry.” I laughed, wiping my eyes with my torn-up sleeve. Klaus got up and pulled me in a tight hug. I grabbed him tightly.

“I’m sorry that Dave didn’t listen to you.” I said, resting my head on his shoulder.

“I know. It’s okay.” Klaus shushed. “Remember, we never belonged here. You’ve helped your friends so much.” Luther came into the room from the hallway.

“Come on. Time to go.” Klaus and I pulled away.

“Let’s go home.” Klaus said, offering his hand. I took it and we followed Luther down the remaining front porch steps to the front yard. We stood in a circle, just like before.

“Everyone ready?” Five asked, black briefcase in hand.

“Let’s do it, yeah.” Luther agreed.

“Okay,” Five said, ready to go. Diego put his hand on Five’s shoulder, and grasped Luther’s hand.

“Wait!” Klaus cried. We all froze. Klaus ran to the porch and picked up his black hat from before, smugly setting it on his head.

“Fifty bucks if we leave him.” Diego whispered to Five as Klaus joined the circle again. Klaus grabbed my hand and I grabbed Vanya’s. Five clicked the briefcase and electricity jolted from it, enveloping all of us in a bubble of energy. We disappeared.

When the light faded, we were in the foyer back home. We all groaned as the time jump hit us, making our muscles and bones ache.

“What day is it?” Luther groaned. Five picked up a discarded newspaper.

“April 2, 2019.” Five read aloud. “Day after the apocalypse.”

“Wait, so we stopped it.” Allison realized.

“My God, it’s over?” Vanya asked.

“Did we— actually succeed at something?” Klaus gave a breathy laugh. “I don’t know about you, but I need a drink.” He said, hugging Luther and then Vanya. “Actually, several.”

“I’m in.” Allison said.

“Make ‘em strong. Had a hell of a day.” I laughed, hugging Allison. She went to follow us into the living room, but stopped short.

“I should go find Claire.” She said.

“Oh come on, one drink.” Luther tapped her shoulder as we headed into the living room to celebrate not blowing up the world for the third time. We looked around, seeing everything as it was before shit went down. There was only one difference.

“Why is there a painting of Ben over the mantelpiece?” Diego asked. We all looked at what he was talking about. Where Five’s painting once hung, there was now a picture of a teenaged Ben.

“I knew you’d show up eventually.” A familiar voice called from Dad’s chair in front of the fireplace. He stood and faced us.

“Dad?” Diego asked, not believing his eyes. We all stared at him in awe and horror.

“You’re alive.” Luther whispered.

“Why shouldn’t I be?” Dad asked, like it was the stupidest statement he’d ever heard.

“Y-Yeah, you’re right. I’m, I’m just happy that we’re home, and… together again.” Luther covered his tracks.

“’Home’?” Dad repeated. “This isn’t your home.”

“What are you talking about?” Allison asked. “This is the Umbrella Academy.”

“Wrong again.” Dad said. “This is the Sparrow Academy.” A series of footsteps came from the balcony. Five people lined up, the sun casting a shadow over their faces. Diego pulled out his knife at the sight of the intruders. A figure stepped out from the hallway.

“Dad, who the hell are these assholes?” A teenage looking boy asked, bearing a striking resemblance to the picture over the mantle.

“Shit.”


End file.
